O Captain, My Captain
by miiikechang
Summary: After a war as crippling as the Arrancar War, Soul Society is lacking in reliable shinigami, especially Captains. What happens when a certain lieutenant is sent to the real world in search of a suitable one? Yaoi. ShuuheiXIchigo. DISCONTINUED
1. Weakness in Words

I'm _finally_ free from summer school…which means I can get started on my agenda of crack yaoi pairing fics! Yay! So here it is, the long-awaited, never before seen, highly anticipated ShuuheiXIchigo fic! I was kinda surprised no one thought of this crack pairing…but then again, it _is_ crack…

Anyhow, this fic is rated M for a reason. The possible lime/lemon content will be introduced in the latter chapters (definitely not in chapters 1-3) and the use of frequent use of profanity is more than enough to warrant a rating of M…but of course, that shouldn't deter you from reading this fic!

Anyhow, a quick warning. This'll be my _second_ crack yaoi pairing fic (first in the Bleach fandom), so as with any of my fics, reviews are greatly encouraged _and_ appreciated. Yes, unbeknownst to many, reviews actually _do_ help improve my writing…or my ego if the review just chooses to compliment me…I'll take whatever I can get.

Onto the important stuff. **Disclaimer: **_I do not own Bleach. Kubo Tite does. But believe me, if I did own Bleach, it would be transformed into a yaoi-fest. This fic contains yaoi, possible lime/lemon, and profanity, so please do not read if you're not mature/open-minded enough to read. Otherwise, enjoy._

CH1: Weakness in Words

"I decline."  
"W―What?"  
"I decline," answered Urahara in a slightly agitated voice.  
"B―But you seemed interested just a moment ago!" It wasn't in his nature to beg. But orders were orders, and as unruly as he seemed, Hisagi Shuuhei always obeyed orders from above.  
"Well, I was only pretending to be interested. It's called common courtesy."  
"But Urahara-san, think of the state that Soul Society is in! We need your leadership―"  
"I said I decline. If I showed you the courtesy of being interested in what you had to say, why don't you show me the courtesy of respecting my wishes?" replied Urahara flatly, but clearly annoyed. Shuuhei let out a heavy sigh and got up from his knees.  
"If that's how you feel, Urahara…" he muttered, as he started to exit.  
"…Have you considered _him_ yet?" called out Urahara as Shuuhei walked towards the door.  
"Him?" asked Shuuhei obliviously.  
"…Kurosaki Ichigo…you know as well as I do that he _is_ fully qualified for captaincy."  
"Of…of course. I'll see to it that Soul Society's invitation is extended to him…" answered Shuuhei gruffly. He was about to walk through the door when Urahara stopped him once more.  
"Perhaps you would be interested in borrowing one of my gigais?"  
"…Not after what you did to Rukia…"  
"Tch…well one of my gigais would certainly be helpful to your cause. As a matter of fact, I have a surefire strategy to get Kurosaki-kun to listen to you…" chuckled Urahara behind his fan. Shuuhei closed the door and sat down across from Urahara as he listened to the older man explain his proposition.

It wasn't that Soul Society was desperate. It was far from it. They still held onto their shinigami pride, but the fact of the matter couldn't be avoided: they needed experienced shinigami and they needed them now. The war with Aizen and the Arrancar had proven to be a costly and fatal one, decimating over half of the shinigami army, not to mention losing various seated shinigamis as well. Yes, even captains and lieutenants alike had died in the war. In fact, it had only been 2 days since the formal funerals of Yamamoto-taichou, Kuchiki-taichou, Hitsugaya-taichou, Zaraki-taichou, and Ukitake-taichou. It was still hard to accept the deaths of these great warriors, but mourning was the least of their worries now. Besides, showing such sentimental sadness was a sign of weakness. A weakness he tried hard not to show…but always failed miserably. Even his former-captain could see this weakness, and he was blind for God's sake!

The day after the funerals was the day Kyouraku-taichou was promoted to Commander General and made Captain of the 1st Division. Ise Nanao was promoted along him as lieutenant of the 1st Division. The former lieutenant of the 1st Division, Sasakibe Choutarou, was in turn promoted to Captain of the 8th Division to replace Kyouraku. Along with these promotions were Renji's promotion to 6th Division Captain, Rukia's promotion to 13th Division Captain, and Yumichika's promotion to 11th Division Lieutenant (Yachiru-fukutaichou and Ikkaku had died alongside Zaraki). Shuuhei felt guilty. Guilty partially because he was good friends with all those who were promoted (excluding Sasakibe), and yet he cursed their promotions. At first, he tried to wipe the thought from his mind. He tried to feel happy for them. He really did. But all it did was leave him bitterly contemplating his life. Why had they improved so much and why had he improved so little? What did it mean to be the top of his class at the Shinigami Academy if he was no where close to the top of the Gotei 13 hierarchy? What had he been doing all these years then? Was he not training? Was he not strengthening himself, preparing his mind and spirit, to achieve bankai? What _had _he been doing? It was these thoughts that convinced him that _he_ was the blind one, not Tousen. He could not see what he had done, nor could he see what he was going to do. Suffice to say, he was blind, and he was lost.

So when Kyouraku-taichou made an opening for one lieutenant to go seek out a worthy candidate for captaincy, it was Shuuhei who strived hardest to get this opportunity. He didn't exactly understand the reason why he desired such a task, but only that it made him feel useful. It made him feel needed, worthy of something, and that, at that moment, seemed to answer all doubts in his mind.

But now, his first and second candidates had been eliminated (Yoruichi and Urahara respectively). The feelings of weakness and inferiority had begun to consume his insides once more. If he couldn't accomplish such a simple job, then what good was he for? But when Urahara mentioned that boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, his heart practically leapt for joy…or hope at least. He still had a chance to redeem himself, but the strategy that Urahara was explaining to him now seemed sketchy.  
"…How do you know this will work?" asked Shuuhei unbelievingly.  
"Ah, believe me Hisagi-kun. If he has a weakness, it's definitely _them_" said Urahara as he concealed a wicked smile behind his fan. "Anyhow, are you willing to try it out?" Shuuhei sat momentarily. He considered his options once more (only the weak made decisions without thinking) and consented to Urahara's plan. "Good, good. Well, I have a gigai for you out back. Mind you, I took the liberty of removing that…provocative tattoo and those scars over your eyes. Appearance is absolutely crucial to this plan…" chuckled Urahara once more. Shuuhei only sighed in compliance.

His face was that of a young teenager once more, except for the band of gray stretched from one cheekbone to the other. Despite losing the '69' on his face, he found another way to expose this…erotic number: on his shirt. Inside his gigai now, Shuuhei was dressed in a simple white tank-top with a bolded 69 on it, along with black jeans.  
"…Do you _have_ to have that number on your body?" sighed Urahara.  
"…It's the district of Rukongai I came from. Not…not what you think it means…" muttered Shuuhei sheepishly.  
"Yes, yes I know that. But most people won't know that…" Shuuhei thought about this, but eventually decided that he didn't give a damn about what most people thought. "So you're ready then? Here's a map to Kurosaki-kun's house, so off you go!" said Urahara cheerfully.  
"You're not gonna come and help me?"  
"Ah, I can't do that. It's awfully busy here…" Shuuhei looked around and saw that _no one_ was around. The red headed kid was in the corner sleeping and the black haired girl was conducting a symphony of crickets with her hands. "…and Kurosaki-kun might get suspicious if I was there. You know, he's brighter than he looks."  
"Tch, whatever…" muttered Shuuhei as he waved Urahara off and left through the door.

'So here it is…' thought Shuuhei to himself as he stood outside of the Kurosaki Clinic. '…It looks peaceful.' He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Initially, there was no response. After waiting a few minutes, Shuuhei rang once more. Still no response. Shuuhei wasn't one for patience so decided to ring the door bell continuously until someone opened the door. "THE HELL DO YOU WANT!" yelled Ichigo upon opening the door. His face was flushed in anger, but it suddenly changed to surprise when he realized who was at the door. "Oh? Uh, you're…"  
"Hisagi Shuuhei. Lieutenant of the 9th Division. I'm here to talk to you about official shinigami business."  
"I ain't interested" answered Ichigo gruffly and slammed the door on Shuuhei's face. Shuuhei could feel a vein throbbing in his forehead and could already feel frustration taking over his body. However, before anger took over completely, he heard voices from inside the house.  
"Onii-san, who was that?" asked a young girl's voice.  
"No one," answered Ichigo.  
"…Sounded like someone…"  
"It was _no one_" said Ichigo as he stomped up the stairs. 'Time to implement Urahara's strategy' thought Shuuhei to himself. He rang the doorbell again. This time, a young brunette opened the door.  
"Oh. Hello. Who are you?"  
"I'm Hisagi Shuuhei…a friend of Ichigo. He said I could stay over until…until I could find a place to stay…but it seems he just suddenly changed his mind…"  
"…You have no where to stay?" gasped the girl. The plan was working perfectly.  
"…My parents…they've abandoned me…and I have no relatives I know of…and no home to go to…" continued Shuuhei. He tried his best to look pitiful but the best he could pull off was a semi-scowl-frown.  
"That's…that's horrible! Of course you can stay with us! Otou-san will definitely take you in!" cried the girl as she dragged Shuuhei in by the hand. This was easier than he thought it would be. "Where's your stuff?" asked the girl suddenly. Shuuhei fell silent. He hadn't thought about that.  
"Uhm…parents…sold it on E-bay" lied Shuuhei lamely. The girl stared at him unbelievingly…then burst into tears.  
"That's…that's so horrible!" cried the girl. "You can borrow Ichigo's! I'm sure it'll fit you." After minutes of crying and sniffling, the girl finally thought to introduce herself. "My name's Yuzu" said the girl in between sobs. "My twin sister is Karin. And daddy's name is Isshin, but you should call him Otou-san."  
"I see…" muttered Shuuhei.  
"Well then…" Yuzu suddenly stopped crying as she had suddenly started crying. "I need to make dinner. You can go yell at Ichigo or something, but I'll call you down when sis and dad get home." Shuuhei nodded and headed up the stairs.

"WH―WHAT THE HELL? Who let you in here!" asked Ichigo, clearly pissed off.  
"Who else? Your sister," replied Shuuhei coolly. "I don't intend to make my visit long. The reason I'm here is because…"  
"I don't wanna hear it. You can get your ass outta here" grumbled Ichigo as he sat cross-legged on his bed.  
"I'm here to ask if you'd be willing to become a candidate for captaincy in Soul Society." Ichigo stopped fidgeting. His once intense and annoyed face softened and revealed a gentle and calm disposition. However, it didn't last long.  
"Nope. Not gonna," answered Ichigo bluntly.

It was like a clock going off in Shuuhei's head. A clock that had been counting down all day. And now, after being rejected for the third time, the clock finally rang. He lost control and resorted to his overdrive mode. He started to wrack his entire brain in search of way, _any _way, to change Ichigo's mind…anything as long as it didn't mean failure. Perhaps it was desperation. Or perhaps it was pride. Or maybe it was fear of showing his weakness. But that didn't really make sense, because in the end, he found himself kneeling on the ground, face pressed down to the floor in a solemn bow. He was exposing all kinds of weaknesses by getting into this desperate state: a full-on, total submission of one's self.  
"Please, Kurosaki…reconsider. I beg of you." He shot a secret glance up at Ichigo's face. It was still somber, but it showed hints of weakening. "I'm asking you…humbly and on my damn knees…you don't know how fucking hard this is for me…" stuttered Shuuhei. Ichigo's face softened once more. Shuuhei continued. "Think…think of your family…how you'd be able to protect them better…" Ichigo's face softened considerably now. Shuuhei continued to grovel. "And think of Soul Society. Think of what a great service you'd be doing for them and the world." In a split second, his face went from a kind face to a killer's face.  
"I TOLD YOU I DON'T WANT TO!" exploded Ichigo. At the moment, the door behind them exploded open. Shuuhei retained his bowing position but turned around enough to see who it was. There in the doorway stood a burly looking man, unmistakably Isshin.  
"What…what's this! You're forcing your _friend_ to _beg_ for a place to stay! UNACCEPTABLE!" cried the man as he jumped forward into a flying kick. Ichigo caught the kick but was unable to block the roundhouse kick from the other leg. The two fell down and started wrestling about. "Otou-san has always taught you to be compassionate to others!" yelled the man at the top of his lung as he pinned Ichigo down and started stamping his feet on his back. 'Completely contradictory…' sighed Shuuhei to himself.

Their dinner was relatively quiet, most likely because Ichigo and Isshin's mouths were too bruised and swollen from saying anything (or chewing anything for that matter). "So, Shuu-san, I don't think I've ever met you before…" asked Karin suspiciously.  
"Karin! He's a friend of Ichigo so don't try to make him feel unwelcome!" Yuzu reprimanded Karin. "Anyways, you should call him Onii-san" said Yuzu as she swallowed rice.  
"He's not my friend…" grumbled Ichigo. Shuuhei heard a sudden thud from under the table and looked over to see Ichigo bent over and grabbing at his crotch. Isshin had apparently kicked him.  
"Ichigo! Behave! Anyways, Shuuhei is welcome to stay here as long as he wants. Actually, he can stay here forever! No wait, he _should_ stay here forever!" laughed Isshin allowed. There was a sudden dull thud and his mouth clamped shut suddenly as he bent over to grab his crotch. Shuuhei just smiled and nodded.  
"Thank you all for your hospitality."  
"It's nothing! Anyhow, you can share Ichigo's room!" said Isshin. Ichigo made another attempt to kick Isshin in the crotch but it seemed like Isshin had caught his foot inbetween his knees. Without warning, Isshin jumped over the table and tackled Ichigo.  
"UNACCEPTABLE!" yelled Isshin. Yuzu got up to try and pry them apart but Karin just sat there.  
"Ignore them and eat. This is the only chance you get to hog all the good stuff" she commanded gruffly. Shuuhei nodded and started eating.

TBC

For your viewing pleasure, here's a captain/lieutenant table for my alternate Soul Society!

Division / Captain / Lieutenant  
1 / Kyouraku / Ise  
2 / Soi Fong / Oomaeda  
3_ / Available_ / Kira  
4 / Unohana / Isane  
5_ / Available_ / Hinamori  
6 / Renji / _Available_  
7 / Komamura / Iba  
8 / Sasakibe_ / Available_  
9_ / Available_ / Shuuhei  
10_ / Available _/ Matsumoto  
11 _/ Available / _Yumichika  
12 / Mayuri / Nemu  
13 / Rukia _/ Available_

Anyhow, hope that was a good start. R&R please, cause you know damn well that the only reason I write is for the appreciation. Or criticism. Whichever comes first.


	2. Reflection of One's Self

Tch, I was kinda hoping for more reviews, but I guess I can't expect much since this fic is just starting up and what not. I guess I'll just wait…patiently…almost desperately…for reviews…PLEASE REVIEW. I'm crying here…

CH2: Reflection of One's Self

"You're a real bastard, y'know that?" Ichigo said as he plopped himself face down on his bed. They had just finished the dinner/fight and Ichigo was dead tired…not from being full; rather it was from beating the crap out of his father.  
"What can I say? I got abandoned by my father," chuckled Shuuhei in reference to his alibi. Ichigo merely shifted his head to face the other way in ignorance of Shuuhei. "Well, I guess I'll be staying here a while then," he sighed.  
"No way in hell. You're leaving tomorrow" said Ichigo gruffly.  
"No can do. A mission's a mission, and I'm supposed to bring back a candidate and that's what I'm gonna do." Shuuhei sat himself down on the floor and reclined against the closet door, as if waiting for Ichigo to refuse once more. Instead, Ichigo just lied on his bed, refusing to face Shuuhei. They sat like so in silence and waited for the other to say something…but nothing really came of it. It was then, that Shuuhei realized that he had absolutely no idea who Ichigo was. Sure, he knew that Ichigo had become a shinigami by abnormal circumstances, and sure he knew that Ichigo had achieved bankai in a matter of days, and sure he knew that Ichigo had defeated not one, but _two_ captains…but what more could be said of Ichigo? Insanely strong was one thing, but what else could be said of the teenager lying in front of him? Shuuhei stared at the bright orange hair and after several minutes of contemplation, he concluded that the only other thing he knew about Ichigo…was that he was _immensely_ anal-retentive. Shuuhei sighed to himself and mentally laughed at the lieutenant who would have to bear with this stubborn man as a captain…assuming Shuuhei could convince him to become one in the first place.  
"Hey!" yelled Ichigo. Shuuhei snapped out of his trance. "God, I've been yelling at you for the past friggin 5 minutes now and all you do is give me that damn stare!"  
"What do ya want?" asked Shuuhei curtly.  
"…Did you ask Urahara yet?" Ichigo asked curiously, not making eye contact but facing him nonetheless.  
"…I did."  
"And?"  
"And he refused."  
"Tch, thought as much," sighed Ichigo as he turned his back to Shuuhei once more. They sat there in silence once more, again waiting for the other to speak. It was Ichigo who finally spoke first, again. "Why'd you let Urahara off so easily then?"  
"…What do you mean?"  
"How come you let Urahara refuse, but won't let me refuse?" asked Ichigo, lowering his voice considerably.  
"…I didn't say I wasn't letting you refuse. But…you didn't seem to put a lot of thought into my offer. Urahara-san at least considered the idea before he rejected…" lied Shuuhei as he remembered how bluntly and flatly Urahara had rejected. "So that's why I've been forced to resort to living with you. So that I can…persuade you, I guess."  
"Yeah, well, all you're doing is just making me more pissed off" answered Ichigo, the roughness back in his voice. It was at that moment the rest of the family chose to pop into Ichigo's room.

"Hello, hello my two dearest sons!" cried Isshin. He jumped in and started doing a pirouette that ended up as a full-on roundhouse kick to Ichigo's face…that was promptly blocked by Ichigo.  
"I had enough for one day, old man," muttered Ichigo tersely.  
"Otou-san, Onii-san, that's enough!" cried Yuzu as she walked in, hauling what looked like a bed frame.  
"Oye, you two, help me with this!" shouted Karin from the bottom of the stairs. Shuuhei stood up and walked outside to see Karin dragging a large mattress up the stairs. He went up to the mattress, grabbed it, and dragged it one-handed the rest of the way.  
"Y―You got big guns there…" muttered Karin in disbelief. Shuuhei smiled at the praise.  
"Yeah! Shuu-san may be even stronger than Ichigo!" chimed in Yuzu. Ichigo scowled at this and turned his back to the rest of the family.

After setting up the bed frame, they had to decide where to put it. Initially, they had wanted to fit it snugly between a wall and the foot of Ichigo's bed, but that proved difficult to manage since it was too big to fit in. After moving the frame from one spot to another, they finally decided to throw Ichigo's table into the corner at the foot of Ichigo's bed and to place Shuuhei's bed right next to Ichigo's bed.  
"Then how do I get outta my bed?" asked Ichigo stubbornly.  
"You just crawl across Shuuhei's bed, duh," answered Karin sarcastically. Ichigo grimaced at the thought of having to crawl over the other man's body.  
"Can't…can't we put a little space inbetween the beds?"  
"Nope. There's barely enough room in your room as it is. If we put a space in between your two beds, then Shuu-san's bed would be put up right against the closet and that would block it out completely," stated Yuzu in a 'matter of fact' tone. "Besides, it's not like you're sharing the same bed; it's still two separate beds." Ichigo shook his head at this. The two twin size beds put together seemed to resemble a large queen size/king size bed.  
"Ohoho…I know why Ichigo is being so picky!" chirped Isshin as he reentered the room. "It's because Ichigo gets all clingy at night. When he was little, he would run into my bed and snuggle up beside me and cry because something had scared hi―" Isshin didn't get to finish his sentence. Ichigo had swooped him up in a massive bear hug and was squeezing all the air out of him. Shuuhei just laughed. He was getting used to their display of…well not love, per se, but something like it. After setting up the mattress and putting on the bedspreads, the family left the two to themselves once more. Isshin shot one last comment before leaving.  
"If you're not the touchy-feely type, I'd suggest putting a pillow inbetwe―" Isshin was thrown out of the room before he could finish.

Ichigo sat on his bed doing his homework while Shuuhei rummaged through Ichigo's closet in search of something suitable to wear.  
"Oye, don't be so fucking picky. Just find something already," grunted Ichigo as he started graphing a certain function. But Shuuhei wasn't being picky. Rather, he was just amazed at the amount of clothes Ichigo had…and the type of clothes they were. Most (if not all) Ichigo's clothes seemed to be tight-fitting clothes, the type that would snap to your body and expose well-toned muscles. Definitely something Shuuhei would want to wear.  
"I'm not being picky…it's just that…I've never had such a wide, selection, I guess…" muttered Shuuhei. He thought back as far as he could and remembered the rags he had worn when he was still in the Rukongai. The Shinigami Academy uniforms were a welcome improvement, but they didn't leave much for the imagination. And even as a lieutenant, he was forced to wear the same standard Shinigami clothes everyday. The most he could do to vary his look was to cut off the long sleeves. He sighed as he kept rummaging through clothes and then realized something subtly funny.  
"What, no undergarments?" asked Shuuhei jokingly. Ichigo looked up from his homework, pencil in mouth, with a questioning look in his face. He pointed at the drawer at the bottom. "These…are shorts…really _really_ short shorts. And thin too…" said Shuuhei as he held up the said undergarment.  
"They're called boxers…" said Ichigo, trying to suppress a smirk. "You said you wanted undergarments, so there ya go."  
"…No fundoshis?(1)" asked Shuuhei skeptically.  
"You're…you're kidding, right?" asked Ichigo, now chuckling aloud.  
"What? You never seen one before?" asked Shuuhei incredulously. He pulled his jeans off to reveal a black, satin fundoshi. "See, this is a fundoshi" explained Shuuhei as he pointed.

It wasn't that he didn't like fundoshis. Nor was it that he didn't like the view before him. _Far_ from it. Ichigo stared intently and felt a blush rising to his face.  
"Oye, Ichigo, you're bleeding" said Shuuhei. True enough, a slow trickle of blood was flowing from his left nostril(2). As he stumbled out of bed to get to the bathroom, he mentally thanked God. Shuuhei really didn't understand what thoughts Ichigo was having at that moment. But then again, neither did Ichigo. Men really weren't at the top of his nosebleed list…or at least, they weren't _supposed_ to be. He sighed as he sat down on the toilet and stuffed a wedge of paper up his nostril, realizing that women weren't at the top of his nosebleed list either. In fact, nothing ever got him…'worked up'. Thinking back, Ichigo could never recall a time where he had actually been 'worked up' by someone. Sure, he had been embarrassed (he remembered with a blush the time he and Yoruichi had shared a hot spring), but he honestly could not remember ever being aroused by any female…or male for that matter. At times, he had went so far as to suppose that he had no lusty desires whatsoever, which made him seem like a saint. But in the end, he always came back to the same conclusion: it wasn't that he didn't lust, it was just that he was brought up to avoid it. Morals had been drilled into his head as a child by his ever virtuous father and loving mother, and the need to be the upstanding brother for his sisters had always prevented his thoughts from lingering on sex and the like…but what happened just now? The image of Shuuhei in a fundoshi lingered in his mind still, and he couldn't erase it from his memory. But why? Why was he still thinking about it? Why could he remember it so vividly? Was this…lust? Ichigo shivered at the thought and tried to shake the feeling off… and blushed a bit as he suddenly realized that the bleeding had stopped in his left nostril but now flowed from his right nostril.

Upon entering the room he found Shuuhei dressed in his _favorite_ pair of boxers (white with a strawberry pattern spiraling outwards from the crotch area). But other than that, he was shirtless and relatively _nude_. Blood surged for his nose once more but he pinched it closed, cursing his inability to understand what was happening to him. He started to exhale and inhale slowly and started to remind himself of 1) his morals and 2) the fact that he was a guy. 'Guys don't go well with guys' thought Ichigo mentally…but the TV downstairs blaring "HOMO HOMO HOMO" seemed to think the opposite. Sighing, he quelled the blood surge and threw a white tee at Shuuhei.  
"At least put this on," grumbled Ichigo. Shuuhei turned around and caught the shirt in mid-drift. After putting it on, he jumped onto the bed and closed his eyes as if to start sleeping. Ichigo sighed as he tried to crawl over the other man's body to get back to his homework. Suddenly, a blaring noise went off inside the room. Shuuhei sat upright immediately…only to slam his face right into Ichigo's chest.  
"The hell? What do you think you're doing?" yelled Shuuhei. But he didn't give Ichigo time to answer. Jumping out of bed, he ran to the desk and picked up a cell phone which Ichigo assumed was Shuuhei's Soul Society communicator.  
"Hollow. Let's go" commanded Shuuhei gruffly. He shuffled the objects on Ichigo's desk around until he found Ichigo's shinigami badge. He slammed it into his chest and let his gigai fall flat onto his bed. Ichigo grabbed the badge from Shuuhei's now limp hand and slammed it into his chest as well, letting his body fall back on the bed right on top of Shuuhei's body. The two, nodded at each other and opened the window to jump out into the cool night.

The hollow they were ordered to kill that night had already killed 3 other shinigami before the two reached it. Upon arriving at the scene they were greeted with the stench of death and the grizzly sight of dismembered body parts. Luckily, the hollow didn't feel the need to hide its presence so finding it was easy. There in the middle of the park was the hollow which seemed to be a floating mask, resembling a plain skull, with no body, arms, or legs to boast of. However, surrounding the edge of the mask were jagged mirrors, giving the impression of a lion's mane.  
"More shinigami?" sighed the hollow in a feminine voice. She seemed bored, if not tired. "To be honest, I think I've already eaten enough…but then again, you can never have too much of anything" giggled the hollow devilishly. Shuuhei wasn't one to respond to taunts in battle, nor was he one to waste his breath on mocking his opponent. He leapt forward and flash stepped behind the hollow. The back side of the hollow was completely exposed. There, in the center of the mirrors, was a black spot, which Shuuhei assumed to be the neck area, or the equivalent. Lunging forward, he made a motion to slash at the vulnerable area, but was stopped as the hollow started spinning furiously. It flipped onto its side and flew straight at Shuuhei as if it were a frisbee, rapidly rotating its sharp edges. Shuuhei's reflexes weren't fast enough to dodge the attack and he most likely would have gotten ripped apart…had Ichigo not blocked her onslaught with his zanpakutou.  
"Tch, some lieutenant you are…" grunted Ichigo as he struggled to deflect the hollow's mirrors. He swung down with all his strength and unleashed a mighty wave of energy, but missed as the hollow flew away just in time to dodge.  
"Oh? Two-on-one? Seems unfair, doesn't it?" laughed the hollow in an annoyingly high pitched voice. Shuuhei ignored this and flash stepped behind the hollow once more and slashed at the back area but missed once again as the hollow propelled herself higher into the sky.  
"Not much for words, are we?" she taunted once more. She continued to float higher and higher until she was at least 100 ft above the ground, and started to spin rapidly again. But now, instead of flying forth, it rotated in place.  
"What's it doing?" asked Ichigo loudly. Shuuhei shot him a glare to tell him to shut up. Ichigo caught his drift. Their attention turned back to the hollow now, as it let out a piercing shriek.  
"Die, Shinigami!" she cried aloud. As she shrieked, she fired off the shards of mirror on her mask like missiles. The rained down on the two shinigami and stabbed and pierced the earth with relentless fury.

After several minutes, the hollow finally stopped firing her mirror missiles and the two were finally able to stop flash stepping. Surveying the scenery, Ichigo was able to see Shuuhei land soundly on the other side of the park they were in. Inbetween them, however, was a forest of jagged mirror shards.  
"My, oh my, what skilled shinigami! I hope I don't miss _this_ time around…" giggled the hollow. Ichigo was about to jump forward and let rip a _Getsu Gatenshou_ but stopped when he noticed the shards on the ground glowing. Each and every shard that had implanted themselves into the earth now shone forth an eerie light. As he stared on, they suddenly began to grow. The mirrors crackled with light and energy as they grew bigger and bigger, until they all reached the height of a one story house.  
"The hell…" muttered Ichigo under his breath. The hollow above started cackling evilly as it descended down into the forest of mirrors and out of view. "Kuso…" cursed Ichigo as he tried to jump into the forest of mirrors. As he gained altitude, however, it became clear that he had the disadvantage at sky. The hollow from her spot in the center was able to see him clearly in the sky and fired several mirror shards, cutting Ichigo at several spots around his body before Ichigo could finally fall back to the ground.

On the other side, Shuuhei was faring no better. After seeing Ichigo's brash action, he rushed headfirst into the forest in the direction of Ichigo, but found himself utterly lost. Drifting through corridors after corridors of mirrors was making him dizzy, at best. It didn't help that he saw himself every time he made a turn, and each time made him jump like every time before that. Anxious and his sight disturbed by the mirrors, he was actually _glad_ when he found the hollow. Without a moment's hesitation he jumped forward and slashed at the hollow…only to find that he had slashed through a mirror.  
"Oh? Can't tell the real thing from a mirror image? My, oh my, how skilled you are…" mocked the hollow. "Come on! Let's see you try that again!" urged the hollow. In a shout of frustration, he swung forth and slashed through 3 more mirrors. This time, his slash yielded a result: a scream. But not the scream of the hollow…it was the scream of Ichigo.

Ichigo kneeled down on his left knee as he looked around to see what had attacked him. He had several cuts along his body from the hollow's earlier assault and now he had just gotten a large slash in the back…but the hollow was no where near him from what he could tell. Bleeding in several spots and aching from the ungraceful landing, he cursed the pain began to walk through the mirror maze. After several minutes of mindless wandering, Ichigo lost his patience.  
"I'll just cut these damn mirrors down!" he yelled. With that, he lifted Zangetsu and brought it down in a deafening release of energy. The bright wave flew forth and crashed into the mirror directly in front of him Upon impact, it seemed as if the mirror was actually resisting the energy blast.  
"Shit!" yelled Ichigo aloud as he flash stepped out of the way. 'These are mirrors; mirrors reflect attacks. Duh, Ichigo' he mentally scolded himself. He gazed on as the bright energy pulse continued to fight with the mirror. Suddenly, the mirror shone brightly as it absorbed the entire energy blast into itself. After the blast was completely absorbed, the mirror cracked and crumbled to pieces.

Shuuhei was running down another corridor when he felt an abnormal spike in energy from behind him. He turned around just in time to see the mirror directly behind him flash brightly and expel a massive energy wave towards him.  
"F―Fuck!" yelled Shuuhei as he flash stepped out of the way. But as quick as he was, he wasn't able to dodge the wave completely, suffering a cut spanning the length of his left arm.  
"Damn…" He knelt down on one knee and took hold of his left arm to null the pain, but it proved futile. He tried to heal it with a quick Demon Art but had to abort as _another_ energy wave burst from a mirror beside him. All of sudden, _all_ the mirrors started shooting energy waves forcing Shuuhei to strain his energy and flash step several feet from the spot. "Guess I needa cut these down to get through this…" he panted, as he picked up his zanpakutou. Facing the mirrors around him he started slashing furiously, letting loose a flurry of slices and cuts, destroying several mirrors at a time.

Unbeknownst to either of the shinigami, each time either of the shinigami tried to destroy a mirror, the other shinigami was forced to face the same effect of the other's attack. Needless to say, the two wandered aimlessly through the forest of mirrors, Ichigo getting multiple cuts each time Shuuhei slashed, and Shuuhei getting blasted by powerful pulses each time Ichigo let a _Getsu Gatenshou_ rip. The hollow hovered in the center of the mirror maze and laughed to herself, watching the scene from through two separate mirrors depicting the futile efforts of each shinigami. She almost pitied the damn insensibility of the two fighters…but she decided that she'd do that after she tasted their blood. She giggled as she flipped onto her side and began spinning wildly and fired rounds of mirror shards into the mirrors surrounding her. No way she could miss this time.

TBC

Little tidbits:

1) Fundoshis are traditional Japanese underwear, somewhat similar to a very loose fitting jock strap. They're still worn today as the preferred choice of undergarments for physical activities like sports.

2) Don't know if this is necessary, but I'll include it anyways. A bloody nose perverted thoughts

I kinda felt Ichigo was OOC in this chapter since I made him seem so damn innocent…but whatever, that'll be fixed soon.

And to the reviewer who's refusing to read cause Hitsugaya and Zaraki are dead…would you be willing to read if I miraculously resurrected them?

Hah, I kid. Ain't no way I'm changing that (and you'll get to see why later). Suffice to say, just because they're dead doesn't mean they're not going to be mentioned in the fic. In fact, they're pivotal characters in later chapters (hence the _title, hint hint_).

Anyhow…R&R please! I'm ripping my hair out waiting for something…anything…maybe even a flame…


	3. Mirror of the Mind

Yay, one positive review. That's all I needed to get the inspiration to put this chapter up. See how much I can do with so little? But that doesn't mean you shouldn't review…

Anyhow, I'm not blatantly ignoring the deceased captains…read on and you'll see.

CH3: Mirror of the Mind

Hinamori Momo would not let another person die because of her. Never. Never again. She repeated this mantra to herself continuously, as if drawing inspiration and courage from it as she departed on her newest mission.

The 5th Division Lieutenant ran at top speed as she headed for her destination: a small park where Hisagi-fukutaichou was currently at. Jumping and flash stepping along the way, she finally reached the park to find a marvelous sight: columns after columns of mirrors spread out across a dark field. It seemed too surreal and beautiful to be possible. She snapped out of her admiration and switched to her mission mode. Recalling the mission reports, she blessed her luck to have been assigned a hollow that depended on long range attacks…she depended on long range attacks as well. She leapt up into the sky, far out of the hollow's view, but clearly within hers and eyed the hollow with a hawk's precision.  
"_Snap, Tobiume_," commanded Hinamori as her zanpakutou started to grow prongs. She channeled her reiatsu into her sword and focused a glowing orb of energy at the base of her zanpakutou. She flowed more energy into it until it reached a considerable size and fired the orb like a cannon at the hollow.

Ichigo had several cuts on every inch of his body, some cuts overlapping others and some occurring on the same spot. Continuing like this was impossible and Ichigo knew it. He considered unleashing his bankai but remembered the restriction Soul Society had placed on him. He had no communicator with which to contact them, so he could not possibly request the limit to be lifted for him.  
"Kuso…" he cursed as he struggled to stand straight. "Of all the luck…" he said as he collapsed back onto his knees as he spat out blood.  
"Looks like you need help." Ichigo looked up to find out whose voice it was. There in the mirror was Zangetsu in human form.  
"Heh, didn't think you'd come out at a time like this…" laughed Ichigo, glad to see the stern face.  
"I wasn't talking to you," replied Zangetsu tersely. Ichigo's eyes widened in disbelief.  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
"He was talking to _me_, baka!" Ichigo turned around to come face to face with a face he only recognized too well. There in the mirror behind him stood his hollow self, as pale and maniacal as ever. "Yo! Long time no see, eh?" cackled his whiter self. "Seems like I can really kill ya now, eh?"

Shuuhei stumbled along, passing from one mirror to another, but finally fell to the ground as he coughed up a stream of blood. His reflexes had slowed down considerably after getting hit by the first blast of energy, so he was forced to try and block several blasts after that…only to see his wasted efforts. The top of his uniform was completely ripped off and a large gash trailed from his abdomen to the top of his right shoulder. He calmed his breath as he tried to muster enough energy to flash step out of the maze. His concentration was shattered when a voice called out from behind.  
"I can see that you're weaker than ever." Shuuhei spun around quickly and saw who the voice belonged to: Tousen Kaname.  
"S―Shut up. You're a damn blindman!" cursed Shuuhei, bitterness flowing freely.  
"Then that shows how weak you really are. So weak that even a blind man can see it." The visored man suddenly disappeared from the mirror he was on and reappeared on a mirror next to Shuuhei. "Do you remember? Do you remember how I died? How you watched me with those beady eyes of yours…how you let me die? How you couldn't make me see 'true justice'?" Shuuhei tried to tune the voice of his former captain out, knowing the image to be a trick of the hollow. But the voice grew louder in volume as if to counter his efforts. "And Komamura…you couldn't help him either! He had to help _you_. You…who are weak. Tell me now, Hisagi, what can you possibly do in such a weakened state? Do you think you can really carry out what is commanded of you? Can you accomplish such an easy task?"  
"Fuck you…" coughed Shuuhei as he started walking away. Tousen instantly reappeared in a mirror in front of Shuuhei.  
"Perhaps you need to remember…remember how truly weak you are." Shuuhei couldn't control himself and found him staring straight into Tousen's eyes…those white, white eyes.

Hinamori fired another shot at the hollow now, blasting off the mirrors surrounding the mask.  
"You bitch!" cried the hollow as it flew dangerously close to Hinamori. Not having enough time to step out of the way, Hinamori resorted to using the prongs of her shikai to fend off the spinning hollow.  
"_Snap!_" she cried as she blasted another shot and made a direct hit, shattering more mirrors.  
"How _dare _you…" growled the hollow, grimacing from underneath its cracked mask. "I'll just kill you like how I'm killing the others!" it yelled. Without warning, it rapidly spun and fired mirrors at Hinamori. This time, she was able to dodge with a well-paced flash step. But when she came to a stand still, she realized that she hadn't completely dodged the attack…she was trapped inside a mini mirror maze of her own. The mirror fragments extended and expanded until they stood several feet taller than her.  
"_Snap!_" she cried and fired a shot at one of the mirrors, which to her horror, absorbed the shot. She felt a sudden influx of energy from behind her and was able to jump out of the way as the mirror behind her fired a shot at her, much like the shot she had just fired.  
"W―What?" cried Hinamori incredulously.  
"Momo…" groaned a soft voice. Hinamori spun around frantically. There in the mirror stood a bloodied Hitsugaya. His left arm had been _blasted_ off and blood was pouring from every pore on his body, even from his normally ice-blue eyes. "Momo…why?" asked Hitsugaya as he knelt down and coughed up blood.  
"T―Toushirou!" cried Momo. She ran at the mirror and clutched at its edges, not caring if the sharp frame cut at her hands. "You're still alive…" sobbed Hinamori, delirious with confusion yet sudden relief.  
"Why…did you have to kill me?" Blood trickled down his forehead and down his nose.  
"I…I didn't mean to…" sobbed Hinamori. "But…but you're not dead! You're right here, before me!" cried Hinamori frantically. She looked at Hitsugaya and couldn't say another word as the two made eye-contact. Slowly, Hinamori felt herself being ripped from the real world and being dragged back to that dark place, the place where so much of his blood was spilled, because of _her_.

"So, Ichigo, why don't you pull off that hollow transformation of yours? Or wait, don't tell me, Soul Society put a restriction on _that _too?" mocked Ichigo's other self. "But that don't matter, now does it Ichigo? It just means I can kill you quicker!" cackled the psychopath. He drew forth the inverted form of his zanpakutou and pointed it at Ichigo. "Ready to die? Cause I'm ready to kill!"  
Ichigo didn't give his inner self a chance to react as he slashed through the mirror completely. "…Missed me!" laughed a voice behind. Ichigo turned around, only to get a heavy slash to his rib cage.  
"Kuso…" muttered Ichigo, trying to get his breath. "Hey Zangetsu! Help me out here!" The stern man looked at him and laughed.  
"Sure. I'll help you die faster." The man slipped his hands out of his pockets and made a quick snapping motion with them. The mirror he was in suddenly changed backgrounds. Behind him now was a barren and dry desert, similar to that of Urahara's underground facility. Swords were scattered all over and blades were lying strewn across the field. Zangetsu picked up a blade and stared Ichigo in the eyes with his sword drawn.  
"But before I kill you, how about I kill another person…like say, your mother?" Ichigo's eyes flashed open as he suddenly saw Zangetsu holding a female by the hair. The female was none other than his mother.  
"O―Okaa-san?"

Shuuhei was transported back to the dark room he had confronted Tousen in…the dark room that was Tousen's bankai. The room where nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard, but everything could be felt. Shuuhei screamed aloud as a sword slashed through his ribs.  
"Weak…" muttered Tousen pitifully in the split second Shuuhei could hear him. Shuuhei swung his blade wildly around to where Tousen was standing, and struck darkness. "So utterly dependant on others…" Shuuhei spun around and was slashed across the chest. "Tell me Shuuhei…can you see your own blood?" Tousen had knocked him down to the ground now, blade tip on Shuuhei's chest. "Of course you can't…this is _my_ justice, after all…the road of the least bloodshed." Shuuhei could not move. Pinned down by blade, strangled by an unbelievable reiatsu, and overcome by the impending fear of death, he felt himself give up. "You're weak. Weaker than a blind man. Justice serves only the strong, Hisagi." Tousen's face flinched momentarily after mentioning Shuuhei's name for the first time in months…but showed no resistance in lifting his blade to plunge it into Shuuhei's throat. Shuuhei would have died that day too, had Komamura-taichou not ripped through the darkness with his massive sword.

Hinamori trailed behind Hitsugaya as they made their way through corridor after corridor of darkness. Wielding her shikai, she tried her best to defend herself from the various Arrancar but ultimately had to depend on Hitsugaya and his bankai. So it stood to reason that by the time they reached Ichimaru Gin, Hitsugaya was considerably tired.  
"My, oh my…" laughed Ichimaru from where he sat in the middle of a large room. "Two lovebirds coming here to fight with lil old me? Tch, love will conquer all, eh?" laughed Ichimaru from his seat. He stood up slowly yet deliberately, letting his reiatsu materialize around his body as if daring the two to make the first move. "I s'pose I should thank ya two for the honor…" continued Ichimaru as he drew his wazikashi from his within his robe. "So lemme show you my gratitude. That alrite? Eh?"  
"Stay back" commanded Hitsugaya to Hinamori in a hoarse whisper.  
"But…"  
"Just…stay back. I don't want you to die…because of _me_."  
"W―What are you talking about, Toushirou?" asked Hinamori, wide-eyed and panicking. But Hitsugaya made no attempt to answer. Another one of the petals of his flower crystals crumbled, leaving one full flower crystal left. Gauging how much time he had left, Hitsugaya decided that he had to defeat Ichimaru in at least 20 minutes or else…  
"Oye, are we gonna fight or what?" asked Ichimaru impatiently. Hitsugaya didn't answer. He let Hyourinmaru answer with a deafening roar, spreading ice along the floor and freezing whatever it came upon and creating ice spires as it willed. Leaping forth, he flew straight at Ichimaru with an avalanche of ice following in pursuit.  
"Tch…scary…" sighed Ichimaru as he leapt forward to meet Hitsugaya in mid-flight.

Ayasegawa Yumichika was on stand-by, watching the 3 other shinigami stand dumbly in spot, staring straight into mirrors.  
"They're not _that_ beautiful…" sighed Yumichika, secretly longing to be able to join the fight because 1) he needed a good fight and 2) he needed a good look in the mirror to reaffirm his 'beauty'. He snapped open his communicator.  
"Have you started lifting the limit?"  
"We have, as you have commanded Yumichika-fukutaichou" answered a voice on the other line amidst static.  
"Good. Make sure Ichigo-kun gets priority."  
"What about the other lieutenants?"  
"You can lift Hinamori's after. As for Hisagi…" Yumichika gazed at Shuuhei with longing eyes, wondering what the muscular man was doing, staring dazedly at a mirror. "…do not lift the limit for Hisagi until I say so."  
"Understood." Yumichika knew Shuuhei would never forgive him if he helped him in battle. He sighed as he leapt down from his perch and ran to find the hollow.

Ichigo yelled as he destroyed mirror after mirror, but never really being able to catch up to Zangetsu's speed. The cloaked man teleported from one mirror to another, dragging his mother in tow by her hair, making her scream in pain.  
"LET HER GO!"  
"Aww, you're a mama's boy?" taunted his paler inner self. Ichigo glared at the psychopathic figure, but ignored him. There was only one person he wanted to kill right now and that was Zangetsu. As he continued destroying mirrors, he never paid attention to how much stronger he felt as time passed by. And as he continued running, he never paid attention to how much lighter he felt as time passed by. It was by the time he had annihilated half of the mirrors on the field that he realized that Zangetsu was no where to be found.  
"SHOW YOURSELF OLD MAN!" he yelled aloud.  
"Right here." Ichigo spun around in time to block a sword that had somehow reached out of a mirror right behind him. Zangetsu was holding the blade in one hand, and in the other, he held his mother's decapitated head.  
"Hey, hey! What should I do with this guy?" Ichigo turned around and saw his inner double grabbing Shuuhei by the hair. "Guess it's alright to kill him too, right?" asked his psychopathic inner self as it slit Shuuhei's throat, letting blood drain from his throat. He bent down and licked up some of the running blood and laughed hysterically. "He tastes damn good…I know _you_ wanna taste him too!" he cackled. Ichigo's pupils dilated as he felt uncontrollable fury course through his veins. His reiatsu doubled, tripled, even quadrupled in strength and started to tear at the very ground beneath him.  
"Ichigo! Use your bankai!" cried a distant voice. Ichigo's scowl deepened into a contorted face of rage. He didn't know whose voice it was, but the idea seemed damn good at the moment.  
"_Bankai_!" he yelled aloud, letting energy explode from his body and destroying the earth, mirrors, and everything within a 50 ft radius.

While Hitsugaya and Ichimaru were fighting, Hinamori was desperately looking for a chance, a moment, _any_ opening for which to catch Ichimaru off guard. Her chance finally came. Hitsugaya made a furious slash at Ichimaru, sending the man flying back several feet and onto his knees. This was her chance.  
"_Snap, Tobiume_" she muttered as she flung not one, but four orbs of violent energy at the unsuspecting man.

She gasped at what she saw.  
"Toushirou!" she sobbed aloud. The boy had blocked all of her orbs with his backside. She saw 3 distinct burn marks along his back, where they had completely burned through his icy wings, and trembled furiously when she realized where the fourth orb had struck. The fourth orb had completely disintegrated Hitsugaya's left arm.  
"W―Why?" she cried, falling down to her knees.  
"Love conquers all, alright" crooned Ichimaru. "Even conquered these two lovebirds." Hinamori ran to Hitsugaya's side and realized why he had blocked her attacks. From the front, she could see that Ichimaru had launched his shikai, aiming to kill Hinamori while pretending to let his guard down. But Hitsugaya had leapt in the way and blocked the blade with his own body, letting the sword sink deep into his chest, piercing his heart.  
"You got your ass handed to ya, from both the back _and _the front" chuckled Ichimaru. Hitsugaya did not answer, letting blood spew from his chest area and dribble down from the corners of his mouth. Each breath he took pumped blood out of the holes in his back and sloshed gallons of blood out of where his left arm had been.  
"Toushirou!" she cried frantically, clutching at his right hand. Hitsugaya let the ice on his right hand recede so that it showed his pure flesh. She grabbed at his hand and brought it to her face, letting her tears soak his skin. His hand was colder than ever, even colder than ice…it was like the coldness of death. She heard him mumble something as he caressed her face with his trembling fingers.  
"What is it…Toushirou?" she said, trying to gain access to his eyes.  
"I…love…" he gasped inbetween coughs of blood. He refused to look her in the eye as his hand left Hinamori's face and landed on Ichimaru's blade. He clutched it tightly as he mustered all the energy left in his body for one final assault. He roared aloud and Hyourinmaru echoed his scream, creating a loud, ear-splitting cry. His reiatsu congregated around his body and turned to solid ice as it traveled along Ichimaru's blade, freezing each and every inch of it in the blink of an eye. Ichimaru had no time to react and couldn't let go of his blade in time, getting his hand frozen to the handle of his zanpakutou. Ice traveled along the floor as well and wrapped around Ichimaru's feet and traveled up his leg and up to his waist, freezing the man to his spot.  
"My, oh my…looks like I went and let my guard down again…" sighed Ichimaru lazily. Hitsugaya coughed blood in response, staining the pure ice crimson red.  
"I love you, Momo…" Hinamori turned to face Hitsugaya. The ice had frozen his entire body and neck, making it difficult for him to face her directly, but she could see it…the love in his eyes. She cried freely now as she watched the love drain from his eyes and the life drain from his face. He smirked and almost smiled, and finally let his head fall limp.  
"Toushirou…" she cried deliriously, sinking down to her knees. She felt so tired…so very tired. Her body wouldn't move and her head dropped over, letting her tears fall like a constant stream.

"Glad that's over with" laughed Ichimaru as he focused energy in his free hand. He moved the energy over his legs and cracked the ice off his legs. "It seems you're next to die, right Momo-chan? I won't mess up…like Aizen-sama did." he spoke coldly, lifting the slits of his eyes to reveal a reddish bloodlust."_Growl, Haineko_" muttered a trembling, but stern voice from behind them. Fine dust particles flew forward and started surrounding Ichimaru's frozen zanpakutou. In a flash, the entire ice-covered sword was broken into shards. Ichimaru sighed as he held his still frozen hand up. He let energy flow into it and cracked off the remaining ice, revealing only the handle of his zanpakutou in his hand. Even the hilt guard had been destroyed.  
"Ran-chan, so you're here too? Couldn't get enough of me last time, eh?" he chuckled. Matsumoto stepped forward out of the darkness with a tear-streaked face. "Oye, you crying for me?" asked Ichimaru skeptically. Matsumoto didn't respond. She looked at her frozen captain tenderly and let out a silent sob, and turned back to Ichimaru.  
"This is for you, captain…" she sighed heavily as her zanpakutou reformed out of thin air.  
"…Y'know, I can still go bankai with this…" laughed Ichimaru heartily as the handle in his hand turned a bright glow. "…And we've never fought before…you sure you wanna do this?" asked Ichimaru, lifting an eyebrow in question.  
"So can I…" whispered Matsumoto. Ichimaru's grin turned into a frown as he eyed Matsumoto suspiciously.  
"You _really_ wanna fight me, huh?"  
"No…I want to _kill_ you." The two stood silently, letting their reiatsu accumulate and flare up. After several minutes of silence, the two yelled "_Bankai_!" in unison.

"Hinamori!" yelled a familiar voice. She turned around and saw Yumichika fighting the hollow. "Hinamori! Are you alright?" he asked impatiently. Hinamori nodded as she realized that all that had happened were from her memories…it was like reliving it all over again. She could feel tears on her cheeks, blood on her hands, and a tiredness stretching over her entire body.  
"Go clear out the remaining mirrors!" yelled Yumichika as he deflected the hollow's attack.  
"…Alright." She turned her attention to the mirrors in the field and gasped. A black flash was zooming back and forth across the field, obliterating rows of mirrors at a time with a tremendous wave of black energy. 'That…that must be Kurosaki-kun…' she thought to herself. Realizing that it would be dangerous to go down and help him, she decided to help Yumichika fight the hollow instead. The least she could do was make sure that Yumichika didn't get hurt…she didn't want another person _dying_ because of her.

Shuuhei trembled as he watched the two men fight intensely. Komamura roared as he leapt forward with zanpakutou in hand. Tousen dodged the initial blow but was slashed by Komamura's bankai version of himself, sending him flying several hundred feet.  
"This is the end, Tousen. I'll show you the road of least bloodshed, where blind and nonblind are equal and the same…the road of _death_." Komamura roared the last word with a vengeful spite and motioned for his giant bankai to step forward and slash Tousen.  
"Then we'll walk this road together!" yelled Tousen as he dodged the giant sword. "_Cry out, Suzumushi_." A deafening ring was emitted from the sword and seemed to shatter every bone within Shuuhei's body. Going limp, he fell down to his knees and eventually came to lie flat on the floor. As he looked up, he saw Komamura bent over, covering his ears and howling in agony. Shuuhei reached for his zanpakutou but saw that it had been shattered by the high-pitch sound waves. Suddenly, above the high-pitched chime, came a deafening crash. The chime stopped immediately after and Shuuhei looked to see what had happened. Komamura's bankai statue had collapsed on top of Tousen, crushing the little man underneath its immense weight. As the bankai slowly faded away, he saw Komamura's figure lying on the floor. Blood streamed out from the proud captain's body and he whined like an injured dog until he finally passed out from pain.

"Shuuhei!" a voiced called out. He blinked as the mirror before him was shattered.  
"What the…"  
"You alright?" Shuuhei turned around see Ichigo standing there in a black suit, holding a slim, black zanpakutou. He looked genuinely worried.  
"Y―Yeah…" muttered Shuuhei with a shaky voice. He struggled to get back on his feet but fell over from exhaustion.  
"Here, let me help you…" sighed Ichigo as he bent over to help him up…only to collapse on top Shuuhei.  
"Tch…some help you are…" sighed Shuuhei.  
"I…I can get up…" muttered Ichigo. After realizing that the mirrors were mere illusions, Ichigo had went about destroying each and every single one. But he wasn't taking chances. If this was the real Shuuhei, there was no way he was going to let what happened to the mirror Shuuhei happen to the real Shuuhei. He got up slowly and was almost back on his feet when he finally passed out from exhaustion. Shuuhei tried to push the other man off of him so that he himself could get up, but he was out of energy too.  
"Eh…well…as long as it's warm, it's alright…" sighed Shuuhei as he drifted out of consciousness.

Hinamori and Yumichika found the two lying in a heap, bleeding all over each other.  
"This…this expression of love between two men…it's _beautiful_" sighed Yumichika. "Blood…body contact…and deep slumber. Just…_beautiful_." Hinamori pretended to giggle in response as she wiped away a lone tear. She knelt down by the two and extended a hand over them and started to heal them. She repeated her mantra to herself. She would never let another person in front of her die again. Never again. She cried as she remembered Hitsugaya's smirk.

TBC

Hm…that was a bit longer than I intended it to be. But I hope it tied up loose ends about what happened to Hitsugaya at least. I did him some _justice_…

R&R please…_please_…**please**…please…


	4. Visions of the Soul

"Goodbye Halcyon Days"…wow, that was by far one of the most touching chapters in Bleach…_ever_. If you haven't read that manga chapter yet, you HAVE to read it now. It almost made me want to discontinue this fic and switch over to IchigoXOrihime. But I didn't. However, it _did_ make me add on a little tidbit to the original content of this chapter (it's pretty noticeable). So read and enjoy. Oh, and a warning for slight sexual themes.

CH4: Visions of the Soul

"Warm abdomen…is that blood? Am I bleeding?" Shuuhei forced his eyes open as he tried to focus in on his core area. The first thing he noticed was that he was back in his gigai, followed by the realization that so was Ichigo. The said boy was asleep too, face buried into his stomach, with only his shirt separating Ichigo's skin from his own. Mumbling a little protest, he tried to push the boy off of him.  
"Get offa me…" he sighed as he tried pushing the boy aside. Ichigo opened one eye lazily and stared at him. Then, as if nothing was wrong, he shut his eye and went back to sleep. The corner of his mouth twitching, Shuuhei took this as a sign of ignorance. He started to pry the younger man's face from his stomach only feel the arms wrapped around his back constrict.  
"Let go of me!" he stammered aloud, a blush rising to his face. Ichigo showed no indication of hearing him but instead crawled up closer to Shuuhei's body, wrapping his arms even more tightly around Shuuhei's back. Shuuhei gasped in pain as Ichigo clung tightly to his chest, where he had suffered a severe blast during the battle with the hollow. Now that he thought about it, how _did_ the battle with the hollow go? How did he get back here in the first place? And who had healed him? Suspicious and acutely paranoid, he looked around to check if the surrounding room was an image conjured up by the mirrors. His fears were finally assuaged when his eyes landed on his communicator, lying several inches away from his pillow. He picked it up to find that he had been left a video message. He clicked it on and watched the video play.

"Good evening, Shuu-kun!" Shuuhei flinched as he heard the gleeful voice of Yumichika fill the room. "Yumichika and Hinamori here!" continued Yumichika as Hinamori bowed in the background. Shuuhei noticed that the two were making this video message in Ichigo's room. He could make out the general shapes of their two bodies on the bed. "By the time you get this message, you're probably all healed and better! Hinamori tended to you two personally, so you should be pretty well off." Shuuhei nodded as he acknowledged Hinamori's superior skills at healing. "Anyhow, don't worry about the hollow. While you two acted as the diversion, I had the chance to go in for the kill. Thank you very much you two!" chimed Yumichika as he held up two fingers for the 'V for Victory' sign. "Well then, we'll be off…but I just had to say, you two really do look beautiful together." Yumichika stood aside to reveal a soundly sleeping Ichigo on top of Shuuhei's soundly sleeping self. "Hinamori, before we go, how about we leave them a present, eh?" He tiptoed over and whispered something into her ear. Apparently, the present was a very good one as she started to giggle and smile. She clapped her hands together as she focused and muttered a few words in quick succession. Shuuhei strained to listen as closely as possible, replaying this scene over and over until he could make out the last few words: Way of Binding No. 15. Ichigo's arms immediately crawled up Shuuhei's body until it wrapped Shuuhei into the position it was in currently. Hinamori giggled and smiled playfully as she bowed. "Bye-bye Hisagi-kun!" she said as she turned around to leap through the window. Yumichika nodded and waved as he turned off the recorded transmission.

Shuuhei sighed as he stopped trying to pull Ichigo off of him. He would need to counter the seal with another spell, but he was too damn tired to even try. Not physically tired, as his body was almost fully recovered, excluding the occasional pain pangs from Ichigo's grasp. He was more…mentally tired. He had just been proven weak, _yet__again_. The fact that Soul Society had sent two more shinigami, both lieutenant rank as well, to assist him in battle just showed how really weak he was. Perhaps he would not have minded it so much if it weren't so uncannily true to Tousen's accusations. He _was_ weak: weak enough that a _blind_ man recognized it and weak enough that he needed not one, but _two_ lieutenants to back him up. No wait…correction, _he_ was the back up, the diversion, and even at that, he had failed. He tried to flip over onto his stomach so that he could smother his yells of frustration in the pillow…but stopped when he remembered that Ichigo was still attached to his front. So, he settled on slamming his head back against the pillow until Ichigo's squeeze made him wince in pain. He calmed down and tried to meditate to clear his mind, but instead, his thoughts returned to Tousen's words making him scowl in anger.  
"So utterly dependant…" said a silent whisper, piercing the inner workings of Shuuhei's mind. Shuuhei's scowl softened into a sad frown as he rolled this truth around in his mind. He _was _dependant. Back when Tousen had just left, he had depended on all the other captains to show him how to serve as the temporary captain. And even at that moment, he had to depend on the other captains to cover for him and lead his division while he was out on this mission. And then, there was the fight with Tousen of course, where his survival had depended on Komamura's intervention. And then there was last night's fight as well, where his survival was once again dependant on someone else, Hinamori and Yumichika…and even Ichigo too. Ichigo…the man he knew so little about. Accomplishments and battle records aside, Ichigo was still a complete mystery to him. For instance, he knew not what drove Ichigo fight as he did. Was it ambition? To be stronger than others? Or was it hatred? Did he have some personal vendetta against the hollows? God forbid it be 'justice'. Shuuhei had had enough of 'justice' for one lifetime.

Beyond the question of Ichigo's incentive was the question of his…amiability. Well, not exactly amiability per se…but there was something that drew the people around him _to _him. First it was Rukia, then Renji, then eventually Byakuya-sama as well! Of all people…Byakuya. Unbelievable. But then of course, there were the gullible, who would have been drawn to Ichigo no matter what (i.e. Kyouraku-taichou, Matsumoto, etc.) And now, as Shuuhei lay in bed, he found himself drawn to the boy asleep on top of him as well (besides being magically bound to him). But why? How could he possibly be attracted the boy's charm (or lack of it), when he barely knew him? Shuuhei lay in bed muttering quiet curses aloud as he ran a mental analysis of his deranged mind. But the deeper he dug into his psyche, the more twisted he realized he was. Why was he so…so _dependent_ on Ichigo? As much as he disliked to admit it, he realized that his dependency on Ichigo at the current moment rivaled his former dependency on Tousen (if not surpassed it). Shuuhei sighed as multiple instances of his reliance on Ichigo ran through his brain: he had depended on Ichigo's hospitality (or his family's) for a source of shelter now that he was in the human world, he had depended on Ichigo to pull him out of the hollow's torture device last night, and most importantly, he was still depending on Ichigo to accept the proposition of becoming captain. No…he _needed_ Ichigo to accept. If he didn't, it would serve as more proof to Shuuhei's weakness and incompetence. As these desperate thoughts took their toll on Shuuhei's disturbed mind, he heard a beep emit from the alarm clock on Ichigo's desk. He sat up and looked at the clock…and realized that it was 2 AM. Shuuhei sighed as he realized that he should sleep soon so that he could wake up early (or at least on time) the next day. He flipped over onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow, trying to stifle his erratic breathing. It smelled strong and musky, and Shuuhei soon realized that it was Ichigo's pillow that he was sniffing, not his own. Too tired to care, he dug his face deeper, trying to rub out any last thoughts. As he drifted into uneasy slumber, he had but one thought on his mind: Why could he never depend on his _own_ abilities?

Ichigo woke up groggily to the faint smell of something unfamiliar. It wasn't exactly foul or pungent, nor was it sweet or aromatic. It smelled somewhat like the ocean: fresh and crisp, but a little stinging on the nostrils. He pried his eyes open…and saw darkness. Well, mostly darkness with a glint of light peeping in from the right corner. He tried moving but realized that his hands were stuck to something. In fact, his _face_ was stuck to something, and it was getting to harder to breathe. It was almost as if someone had thrown a full grown man on his chest. Wait…there _was_ a full grown man on his chest. He cursed out loud as he realized that Shuuhei's stomach was right on top of his face. He tried to pull the man off but his hands were stuck firmly to Shuuhei's back. He tried to turn onto his side but Shuuhei's legs were straddled on both sides of Ichigo, preventing him from turning at all. He tried to sit up but immediately decided that was a bad idea…Shuuhei had a case of 'morning wood', and moving would either agitate 'Little Shuuhei' further or make the obtrusive appendage poke against his throat, something he had no desire of feeling…or so he had thought. Unknowingly, 'Little Ichigo' found himself setting up a tent. 'Definitely _not _a good way to start the day' he thought to himself. How the hell was he going to wake Shuuhei? Ichigo suddenly gasped as sudden panic struck his heart. He shifted his head to the right as far as possible so that he could look at the clock on his desk. It read 6:59:58. Oh. Damn.

"GOOD MOOORNING ICHIGO!" shouted Isshin as he jumped through the door in a ballerina jump. He didn't even bother to pause when his eyes landed on the two boys in their awkward position. "Oh, Ichigo, my son, you were lonely last night and wanted lovey-dovey action? Why did you not come to Otou-san?" cried Isshin as he jumped next to the bed and lifted his right foot straight up and brought it down, heel first, no doubt in an effort to hurt Ichigo.

Shuuhei lifted his hand and caught Isshin's heel in the palm of his hand.  
"Ohoho, good catch my _other_ son! You make Otou-san so happy, happy, so very happy!" he cheered as he tried to put his leg down, no doubt in an effort to launch another assault. But Shuuhei held on tight as he lifted his head from the pillow and glared at Isshin. After Isshin and Shuuhei shared a long stare, Shuuhei gave a weak smile…and threw Isshin right into Ichigo's closet just by thrusting his hand forward. Shuuhei muttered a few words with eyes closed and Ichigo suddenly felt his hands freed from Shuuhei's back. Shuuhei immediately got up.  
"I got dibs on the bathroom," he sighed nonchalantly and walked out. Soon after, Ichigo threw Isshin out of his room as well.

Inside the closet laid Kon's stuffed animal body and his pill form, side by side. Ichigo had long forgotten to reinsert the pill into the body and was about to when he decided he'd rather not. He had more than enough people in the house already. He sighed as he locked his bedroom door and lied down on his bed to soothe his morning hard-on. Breathing deeply, he inhaled a smell he assumed belonged to Shuuhei. Shuuhei's face flashed into his mind before he knew it, but Ichigo found himself unworried by the fact that a man, not a girl, was in his mind before his sinful pleasure was to be committed…he just needed release by any means necessary. It had been a long time…perhaps _too_ long a time since he last felt this primal urge. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, Shuuhei sat himself down on the toilet seeking the same sensation as well. But to Shuuhei, it was merely an act of habit. For him, the carnal desire struck him each morning and evening, but it had been a long time…perhaps an _eternity_ since he had found himself fully satisfied and pleased.

Stepping into the bedroom, he found Ichigo dressed in what Shuuhei assumed to be his school uniform. However, his sharp senses picked up a smell that he had just smelt moments earlier: it was the salty, sweaty, sex smell. He grimaced as he crawled carefully across the bed sheets (being ever observant of special white spots) to get to the window to open it.  
"Yo, you can borrow one of my uniforms." Shuuhei turned to look at the outfit Ichigo held up.  
"I don't have to go to school."  
"Well you can't go out or else you'll get caught and get accused of playing hooky. That means you'd be stuck at home…with Isshin." Shuuhei shivered at the idea, but still hesitated to take the clothes.  
"…Have you considered my proposition?" he asked steadily. He wanted to know at least that much before the day really started.  
"…I have…" said Ichigo as his face turned away, avoiding eye contact.  
"And?"  
"…And I'll think bout it some more. Be patient, damn it," responded Ichigo gruffly as he tossed Shuuhei the uniform. Shuuhei grinned a bit, thinking he had made _some_ progress at least.  
"Could you hand me a…uh…what're they called again?" Ichigo looked at Shuuhei curiously until he figured out what he meant.  
"Boxers," answered Ichigo as he smirked and threw a pair to the other boy. His smirk quickly faded when Shuuhei stripped in front on him and threw the old pair in Ichigo's face. Ripping off the dirty pair in a flash, he was surprised to see that other boy had finished dressing in that second he was distracted.  
"How…How'd you change so fast?" It was Shuuhei's turn to smirk.  
"It's 'cause you don't pay enough attention." True enough, if Ichigo had paid enough attention, he would have noticed that his hand had landed on a certain 'milk spot' when removing the dirty boxer from his face.

Ichigo watched the video transmission on the way to school and secretly swore that he would go to Soul Society just so that he could kill Yumichika.  
"That bastard!" he shouted aloud.  
"K―Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo and Shuuhei turned around and greeted the bumbling, big-breasted Orihime. "G―Good morning Kurosaki-kun. Good morning…Hisagi-fukutaichou?" said Orihime, searching her memory banks furiously. Shuuhei nodded in acknowledgement, restraining the blood from running to his nose.  
"Shuuhei is fine." Orihime nodded but insisted that she'd rather use Hisagi.  
"I like Hisa-kun…or wait, how about Sagi-kun?" Shuuhei's mouth twitched slightly and insisted on Hisagi, if anything. The three walked to school together and watched the video message once more, this time with Orihime's input.  
"That's…that's so kawaii" said Orihime as she smiled lamely. "I'm…I'm happy for you Kurosaki-kun. And you too Hisagi-kun." Ichigo nodded as he misinterpreted what she meant.  
"Yeah, it's a good thing those two were there to save our asses," chuckled Ichigo. "We really got out asses handed to us, didn't we Shuuhei." Shuuhei didn't answer and Ichigo figured that he was probably still sore about it. Orihime just smiled as she always did.

She really _was_ happy for Ichigo. Maybe he had finally found someone…someone who could fill the void in his heart. After all, he _was_ part-hollow, with a hole in place of where the heart would've be. And if someone could…could complete Ichigo, then everything would be alright. She sniffled as she started walking on ahead, looking back to see the two bicker like an old couple. How she _yearned_ that Ichigo would bicker with her like. How she _craved_ to have Ichigo share delicious delicacies her, going out to eat at 5 different places. How she _longed_ for Ichigo…for Ichigo to just be there, besides her. She wanted so much of Ichigo and she reprimanded herself mentally for being so selfish. Who was she to want so much of a person that she herself could not provide for? Ultimately, she decided that Ichigo would do better with someone, no wait…_anyone _besides her. Tears forming now, she repeated to herself the same thing she said so many months ago, this time with a slight addendum, as she walked on ahead of the two: If she could live life 5 times over, she'd _still_ fall in love with the same Ichigo, _each_ and _every_ time…and each time, she'd be willing to give up her life for him. _More_ than willing. And she didn't care if Ichigo ever acknowledged her, so long as she could acknowledge…her love for him. Tears dropped from her eyes as she convinced herself she was crying out of enlightenment, not sadness.

After getting enrolled in exactly _one_ hour (no doubt with help from Soul Society), Ichigo and Shuuhei made their way to their classroom. Shuuhei took a seat right next to Orihime while Ichigo made his way for the center of the room, by Keigo. Ichigo sighed and yawned as class started. As the teacher started lecturing, Ichigo turned to look out the window, as if expecting something magnificent to fall from the sky.

"KUROSAKI! WAKE UP!" Ichigo jolted upright as he turned to the front of the room. His sensei was standing at the front and was obviously pissed. "Was I that boring, Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo shook his head fervently, although lying to her was probably a bad idea. "Ah, no need to hide it, Kurosaki-kun. I know I was being boring…but now, let's do something different! Let's do Biology! We're going to study the circulatory system…in particular the mouth!" Everyone groaned. One student raised his hand to ask a question. "Yes?" she asked sweetly.  
"Uhm…aren't we doing _Chemistry_ this year?" The teacher blinked momentarily.  
"We're doing Biochemistry now," she replied sweetly.  
"And…isn't the mouth technically part of the _digestive system_?" The teacher blinked again.  
"Well, blood flows through the mouth as well. So therefore, it's part of the circulatory system," she replied sweetly.  
"And―"  
"Shut up," she interrupted him sourly. "So anyways, we're going to do a hands-on lab by exploring the mouths of living specimens…our classmates! Isn't that fun?" The entire class shook their head in unison. "Yes it is…" she said with a killer aura emanating from her body. The entire class nodded in unison. "So now, I'll divide you into partners. First will be…Kurosaki and Hisagi." The two blinked and stared at each other dubiously. "And then…the rest of you can do whatever." Ichigo's left eye twitched noticeably. She was being awfully suspicious…more so than usual. He eventually turned his gaze to Hisagi who got up, walked over, and sat next to him, while the rest of the classroom paired up on their own. "Ok then! Keigo, you be my partner!" Keigo screamed aloud. He had just persuaded Orihime to be his partner. "So for this hands-on lab, we will…probe and dissect the mouth! Of course, you can use your hands…but that's boring."  
"But isn't that the _point_ of the lab? Hence the words _hands-on_…" interrupted the know-it-all boy.  
"Shut up! Anyways, true biologists know that for every action, there is an equal action!"  
"Uhm…that's physics…and you mean for every action, there's an equal _and opposite_ _reaction_."  
"Shut up! Anyways, it's common sense to use _your_ mouth to explore _another _mouth. Makes sense right? I'll demonstrate!" cried the teacher emphatically as she kissed Keigo, who gagged. "So now, everybody try it!" laughed the teacher hysterically as she ran around the room waving her hands back and forth like a madman. Ichigo turned to face Shuuhei now, lips pursed and heart beating at 100 mph. Shuuhei sat there and stared at him coolly, face emotionless as per usual.  
"So? Are you going to explore my mouth or what?" asked Shuuhei seriously.  
"But…we're _guys_. It's…_wrong_ for us to do this…" answered Ichigo nervously. Shuuhei stared at him and didn't answer. After a long moment of eerie silence (everyone had stopped what they were doing to stare at the two), Ichigo took the initiative and leaned forward. "As long as it's for a grade…" sighed Ichigo as he puckered up. But the closer he got to Shuuhei's lips, the more nervous he got. He had _never_, _ever_, _EVER_ kissed anyone before, let alone kiss a guy. He closed his eyes as he stuck out his lips in a 'kissy face'…only to find that he had missed.

He opened his eyes to see by how much he had missed by and found that he actually had _not_ missed…Shuuhei had just opened his mouth wide at the last moment, so his lips were actually inside Shuuhei's mouth.  
"Good, good, very, very good!" cried the teacher enthusiastically as she put her hands up to her cheek and blushed furiously. After regaining her composure, she made an announcement ("Extra credit for tongue action!") after which, she laughed feverishly. Ichigo's eyes shot open as Shuuhei stuck his tongue into Ichigo's mouth. At first, Ichigo resisted, clamping his teeth down on the obtrusive tongue. But as Shuuhei's face got closer, and as his nose nuzzled against his, Ichigo's eyes closed as his mouth gave way. Not knowing what to expect, he let Shuuhei's tongue run against his teeth and touch against his own tongue, as if encouraging him to push back. Finally, Ichigo gave into temptation as he used his tongue and wrestled back. Growing confident, he went so far as to bite Shuuhei's tongue. Eventually, the two joined together in a massive make-out session, hands rummaging all over each other, going lower, lower, and lower still, until they got to…the point where Ichigo woke up from his daydream.

Ichigo opened his eyes as stared straight into Keigo's face. The boy had his hand stuck in Ichigo's mouth and was crying.  
"Let go let go let go!" he yelled. Ichigo realized that he was biting down Keigo's hand, and he was biting hard.  
"Oh. S―Sorry…" he chuckled as he sat up straight. He sighed as he shook himself awake and cursed Keigo for interrupting his dream. It was…it was pleasant, after all. Wrong, confusing, and enticing an unwanted bulge in the middle of class…but still pleasant nonetheless. He sighed as he watched his teacher write something on the board.  
"Today, we're going to study Biology. We're going to be learning about the circulatory system with special emphasis on the pelvic/crotch area!" Ichigo just stared at her grin…and started to slap himself as he tried to wake up again.

TBC

Don't be fooled by the light-hearted chapter…it was just a slight transition from the last two chapters into the next chapter. But believe me, the stuff that happened in chapter 2 and 3 are absolutely essential for chapter 5 and well, the rest of the fic. But you'd have to be a damn liar to say you didn't enjoy the jokes…that or I have a really bad sense of humor.

Anyhow, yay for returning fans (ahem evilchild666). And also, yay for repeat reviewers. Especially the critical ones. I've tried to improve the flow of my writing, as per reviews, so review back and let me know how I've done.

R&R as always cause I love reviews more than I love life itself…well not really.


	5. Reasons Why

Hm…seems like this fic is pretty controversial eh? Varying degrees of hate/love…I suppose the nicer reviews serve as inspiration for my writing, but the especially critical ones help too. They make me want to write more (and better, of course), to see if I can overcome the criticisms. Anyways, review, review, review like always.

CH5: Reasons Why

Walking home from school, Shuuhei noticed that Ichigo was considerably quieter than he had been that morning. He opened his mouth as if to ask Ichigo why, but closed it when his communicator started ringing. He looked at it and found that it was nothing more than an audio transmission.  
"Yo, Hisagi here," he answered gruffly.  
"…Is that how you greet your superiors?" asked a cold voice that sent shivers down his back. He shuttered as he realized who he was talking to.  
"I―Ise-fukutaichou…how are you today?" he asked in a stutter.  
"Fine," she answered sourly, sending more shivers down his spine. "I'll make this short. Kyouraku-taichou has requested you return to Soul Society."  
"W―What? I'm not finished with my mission yet!"  
"Is that so? I expect he'll be rather…_disappointed_." She did not even bother to try and hide the displeasure and malice from her voice. She seemed to be in an especially bad mood today, and it was spreading quickly to Shuuhei.  
"Gates are opening at your coordinates in 3…2…1…opened." Shuuhei blinked incredulously as the doors to Soul Society materialized in the middle of the street before the two men. "Hurry up, Hisagi-fukutaichou. Kyouraku says it is urgent." Without another word, the lieutenant on the other end of the line cut off the transmission.

Shuuhei looked over to Ichigo and saw him standing there dumbfounded. Ichigo deserved an explanation, he supposed.  
"Yo Ichigo, I hafta go back to Soul Society for a bit. Take care of my gigai in the meantime." Shuuhei slid his hand into Ichigo's left pocket and rummaged around the boy's pocket until he found the shinigami badge.  
"You could've just asked me for it…" said Ichigo sheepishly as his face turned a slight red. Shuuhei ignored him and slammed the badge into his chest and separated his soul from his gigai. Before his gigai could even crumple to the ground, Shuuhei had flash stepped through the gates and was well on his way back to Soul Society.

Re-entering Soul Society, Shuuhei realized that the gate was a direct passage gate to the 1st Division. Sighing, he ran up the stairs and into Kyouraku's office. Once inside, he found that the office was empty…but changed his mind when he heard a rummaging in the back of the room and decided that Kyouraku must not have heard him enter  
"Kyouraku-tai―" but Shuuhei was cut off by a hand that had covered his mouth from behind.  
"Don't…say…a word" whispered a very serious Kyouraku. Shuuhei nodded as he tried to pry the man's hand away from his mouth but suddenly felt a spinning sensation that shook him from head to toe. Opening his eyes, he found himself no longer inside Kyouraku's room. He was in front of Kyouraku's favorite bar.  
"W―What? You called me back for this?"  
"Well…yes! Nanao-chan hasn't given me any time to have a drink lately and it's all very tiring and so…I called you back on the pretense of having you do a mission report. But really, we're just going to have a damn good drinking session. I even got Ran-chan to come too!" laughed the man heartily. Standing back, Shuuhei found it hard to believe that _this_ man was the commander-general…currently the _most_ powerful being in Soul Society and in the whole world as well (besides God himself). Taking a good look at Kyouraku, Shuuhei sighed and nodded his head to agree to a little splurge on alcohol. After all, the man really _did_ look like he needed it. On one hand, his physical appearance hadn't changed for the most part, except for a few aspects. The first notable changes were the scars: he had an 'X' scar on his left cheek and had multiple scars running up and down his arms (he was eerily similar to Yamamoto-taichou). His next change was that he had disposed of his pink robe after it was dyed a bright red from the blood of all the Arrancar he had killed. Now, he wore an extravagant gold robe, as if signifying his importance. What worried Shuuhei, though, was how Kyouraku as acting. He was twitching slightly, as if alcohol deprivation was taking its toll. He was also jittery, looking at every sound that was made. In essence, he was just a bundle of nerves going haywire. He needed alcohol and he needed it now.

The two walked in and sat down at a table and immediately began to enjoy hot sake. Outside, the sun was setting, leaving a fairly red-orange hue in the sky, fitting their mood perfectly. They sighed after gulping their first cup and sat back as they began the meaningless chatter that usually ensues hot sake.  
"So…how's the candidate search coming?"  
"Good, good."  
"Anyone stand out in particular?"  
"…Kurosaki Ichigo." Kyouraku took a large swig of sake after hearing his name mentioned. He sighed a bit as he spoke.  
"You know…his father used to be a captain."  
"Captain of what? Abusive Spouse Society?"  
"Soul Society." Shuuhei blinked, then chuckled. He wasn't really surprised, partly due to the fact that the alcohol was slowing his reactions.  
"But you know what?" continued Kyouraku. "He resigned his role as captain so that he could be with a human woman." Shuuhei sat and thought a bit.  
"So who replaced him?"  
"…Ichimaru Gin." Shuuhei flinched at hearing this name. Kyouraku saw his reaction and laughed. "Yeah…I never really trusted that man. In fact, me and Jyuushirou were one of the few who refused to recommend him. I even went so far as to beg Isshin to reconsider his resignation and resume his role as captain. I even went to Yama-ji and tried to get him to let Isshin be both captain and a married human. I even went…well I went through a lot of trouble. But in the end, it didn't work out, as you can see."

Kyouraku sighed as he sipped more sake.  
"I can't say that I don't approve of Isshin's decision…in fact I think it was a pretty damn good one. If you fall in love, more power to ya!" he said as he chuckled. "But…but it's funny. The love he had for that woman…the love you have for your, other half, I suppose…it's supposed to be an unconditional love, right? It's s'posed to be like 'I love you no matter what' not 'I love you because…'" Shuuhei nodded, trying to decipher the man's message. "So I guess what I'm saying is, that in a sense, love's s'posed to be _infinite_, right?" Kyouraku took a large swig of sake before continuing. "So if it was so _infinite_, why'd it have to go and get so damn restricted? Why'd Yama-ji hafta to go and say 'No, you can't be both captain and human'. Heck, why'd they have to be two different beings in the first place? Why did God put so many damn complications between those two?"

Kyouraku sighed as he spoke the last line bitterly. He sipped more sake as he continued his rant. "There's that one saying, 'Till death do us part.' Does that mean that after you die, you stop loving? Why? Isn't love s'posed to be _infinite_?" Kyouraku spoke a little less bitterly now as he took on a tone of regret. "I…I felt bad for Isshin...'cause you know, his wife went and got killed by a hollow. Geez, a _hollow_ of all things. Can you imagine the irony? How he gave up one thing so that he could have love, but in giving up that one thing, he had his love taken away? What a cruel world it is…" Shuuhei suddenly felt sympathetic for Ichigo's father.  
"But…he seems to have recovered…" said Shuuhei as he recalled Isshin's various attempts at killing Ichigo.  
"You cannot recover from pains of the heart…"  
"…That was corny…"  
"But it's true. Even when we gave him the shinigami badge after that hollow killed his wife…he couldn't bring himself to kill his wife in her hollow form. And he cried…cried hard, when he had to watch _me_, of all people, kill his hollowed-wife." Shuuhei looked at Kyouraku now and saw that the man looked at least 200 years older than his age. Stressful work in combination and painful memories…these two could take their toll on _any_one, living or dead.

"I don't know where her soul is at the moment…but I imagine it'd be a nice surprise for Ichigo and Isshin if they could see her again, right?" Shuuhei sighed as he patted Kyouraku on the back sympathetically.  
"It'll happen someday, yeah?" he chuckled as he got up to leave.  
"What? You're leaving already? But we've only had 2 bottles…"  
"I have to get back. It's a school night after all."  
"Ah well…you can't technically 'get back' yet…"  
"…Why's that?"  
"I asked Rukia-chan to run a routine maintenance check on the gateway between worlds. It should be underway right now." Shuuhei muttered a curse out loud, but instead of sitting back down, he headed for the exit. "Aw, Shuuhei, don't be so pissed. Ran-chan hasn't even gotten here yet!"  
"Tell her I said hi and everything," muttered Shuuhei as he stepped out into the cool night air. He had some people he wanted to see and talk to. First up would be at the 4th Division.

Unohana-taichou escorted Shuuhei to Komamura's room. Once inside, Shuuhei let out a silent gasp as he looked at the massive captain. Lying on top of a massive table that almost completely filled the hall he was being housed in, was the beastly form of Komamura. Surrounding his sleeping body were various kanji letters etched into the massive stone table, glowing brightly green. Shuuhei immediately recognized the setup as the _most_ advanced healing procedure, and felt his guilt wrack his brain at seeing the wolf-man in such a serious condition. He approached Komamura slowly and stood leaning against the table, facing away from the body.  
"I know you can't hear me right now…but I needed someone to talk to. Or rather, I needed someone to listen to me. I know you won't mind," chuckled Shuuhei as he looked through a window to see a full moon hanging high in the sky. "Lately, I've been wondering why I was so weak. And at first, I blamed it on my lack of training…but now, I'm beginning to think it's something else." Shuuhei muttered these words quickly, not caring if they were audible or not, he just needed Komamura's presence. "I don't know what I should do…what should I do to get stronger? What _can_ I do?" He paused momentarily to look at the sleeping form, then turned away and continued talking. "At first, I convinced myself that if I could finish this mission, I would have _some _proof of my strength…" said Shuuhei slowly. "But now, I don't even know if I can finish the damn mission. That Ichigo is so damn stubborn…"

Komamura's hands shifted slightly. Surprised, Shuuhei turned around to see if Komamura was awake. He was astonished to find the captain laying there, eyes both open, staring intently at him. Komamura opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it silently. Instead, he lifted his hand with great difficulty, and managed to point at Shuuhei's chest. Shuuhei sighed and nodded his head. He understood what Komamura meant."Yeah…I shouldn't blame Ichigo for my own weakness. But it's frustrating, y'know? How you try so hard to make someone see it your way, and yet the other guy just doesn't give a damn." Komamura let out a low growl as if to disagree. He dragged his hand up to his chest, and patted it there a few times.  
"…Chest?" Komamura shook his head.  
"…Body?" Komamura shook his head again.  
"…Ribcage?" Komamura let out a loud growl.  
"What are you trying to say?" asked Shuuhei frustrated. "Heart?" Komamura nodded. He now moved both hands to his chest and made an opening movement with them, as if trying to portray doors that opened out.  
"Open my heart?" asked Shuuhei skeptically. Komamura nodded once more. "…You're a real corny bast―" Shuuhei stopped when Komamura's eyes changed into slits of anger. Finally, Komamura panted out a few words, despite his condition.  
"Let…him…know…you…" he said inbetween gasps. After speaking, he closed his eyes. Shuuhei knew he was still awake, but got the message. Komamura had spoken and he wanted Shuuhei to take his advice and leave. There was no use asking him for clarification, because after all, he had made it as simple as possible.  
"Thanks, Komamura-taichou."

Making sure he was out of earshot, Komamura sat up to look out the window at the bright moon.  
"Good luck, Hisagi-kun."

Shuuhei's second stop was the 6th Division. He decided he wanted to pay a visit to someone who only knew Ichigo too well: Abarai Renji. Making sure his presence was unknown, he slipped quietly into Renji's office, only to find the man signing papers furiously.  
"Well, well, Renji's actually working, eh?" laughed Shuuhei. Renji shot him a quick glance and grinned as he signed some more papers.  
"I wouldn't be acting so high and mighty Shuuhei. These are _your_ papers, after all. I could just leave them for you to sign when you get back." Shuuhei smirked as he bowed to Renji.  
"Oh, have mercy on me Abarai-taichou. Please don't do something as _harsh_ as that…" spoke Shuuhei sarcastically. Renji just laughed.  
"So how's the mission going? Good, right? Otherwise, why would you be back so soon?"  
"Well, Kyouraku-taichou called me back so I could share some sake with him…but truth is, I came to see you about my mission."  
"What? You want me to take over _that_ as well?"  
"No, no. I just…I just wanted to ask you something." Renji lifted his eyebrow in suspicion. Why would Shuuhei be asking _him_ something…after all, Shuuhei was at least 100 years his senior. "I wanted to ask you about Kurosaki Ichigo." Renji flinched upon the mention of this name.  
"Looking for a way to beat him? Ain't no way possible, I'm telling you that right now."  
"I wanted to ask you about the way he thinks." Renji blinked unbelievingly, and then let out a hearty laugh. "W­―What? Did I say something wrong?"  
"No, no…" said Renji in between throes of laughter. "It's just that…Ichigo _doesn't_ think, for the most part. He does what he wants and worries about what happens after, _after_." Shuuhei blinked as he tried to understand what Renji was saying. Renji sighed as he began to explain. "On a scale of 1-5, 5 being worst, how would you rate my temper?"  
"6," answered Shuuhei quickly. Renji scowled at Shuuhei's sarcasm.  
"Well, Ichigo is at least _15_. Quick to anger, slow to think, he's bout as stupid as they come."  
"He seems pretty damn smart in class…" said Shuuhei, remembering Ichigo's rank as number 3 in their class of 30.  
"Yeah well, that's a different kind of smarts. What I'm talking about is responsibility." Shuuhei nodded in agreement and sighed. An irresponsible person wouldn't make a good captain after all.  
"Guess I'll have to find another candidate…" sighed Shuuhei, dread and failure quelling up in his chest.  
"N―Now wait a sec! Ichigo's a pretty damn good candidate…"  
"But you just said he's irresponsible…"  
"Irresponsible about himself! He doesn't give a shit about what happens to himself…so long as his friends, and probably his future subordinates as well, are safe."

Renji seemed especially defensive of Ichigo at the moment, making Shuuhei smirk.  
"Well, that's a good quality in captains: selflessness," sighed Shuuhei as hope replaced his former dread.  
"Damn right. Hell, he's got my recommendation if he becomes a candidate." Renji smiled as he thought of sparring with Ichigo, just like they used to. Shuuhei just smiled and left the room quietly, letting the captain stand and stare blankly out into the night at the bright moon.

Shuuhei's final destination was the 13th Division. He entered the division grounds and made his way to Rukia's compound. Upon arriving there, he found her kneeling elegantly on the porch area, two hands clasping a dainty cup of tea. She wore the kenseikan braids in her hair, a symbol of her leadership of the Kuchiki clan, as well as the dainty white gloves Byakuya-taichou had worn. She also wore the sleeveless, white captain's robe just as her brother did, and had an elegant white scarf adorned around her neck. He whistled as he took in the gracefulness of the scene, and approached her quietly. She looked at him in surprise, as if she wasn't expecting his company that night.  
"Oh, Hisagi-fukutaichou! It's not often you come out to my division. To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked in a fake voice.  
"You can drop the voice…" Rukia blushed a little and nodded as she looked at a cherry blossom tree in the yard. She sipped her tea and watched the petals fall one by one, remembering a certain someone.  
"Well, I'm here to get back to the human world of course…"  
"The portal will be finished shortly."  
"But I'm also here to ask you about…Ichigo." He said the boy's name gingerly, fearing he had opened up old wounds for Rukia. Much to his relief, she smiled.  
"Ichigo...are you really considering making him a candidate?" Shuuhei nodded. Rukia smiled briefly. "So…what do you want to know?"  
"I was just hoping if you had some insight on his way of thinking. I asked Renji and his answer was that Ichigo pretty much didn't think at all, except when it came to helping out his friends." Rukia suppressed a chuckle as she heard this.  
"You had to ask Renji to figure _that _much out? I thought it would have been fairly obvious, seeing as how he _broke_ into Soul Society, _defeated_ 2 captains, and _saved_ me from getting executed. And I haven't even mentioned the thousands of things he's done to help us during the Arrancar war…So what else is there to possibly know? He's a simple-minded fool whose family and friends come first."  
"I wanted to know if there was someway to persuade him into accepting Soul Society's proposition." Rukia stopped sipping her tea and put her cup gently down on the wooden surface.  
"Are you saying he hasn't accepted?"  
"Well, not yet. He says he's considering it and all, but I just wanted to know if there was a surefire way to guarantee his cooperation."

Rukia and Shuuhei sat in silence for several minutes, both deep in thought. After several more minutes, Rukia asked Shuuhei a simple question.  
"Do you know what you are asking Ichigo?"  
"To become a candidate for captaincy in Soul Society," answered Shuuhei, puzzled by the simple question that required such a simple answer.  
"No. I meant, do you know what you are asking _of_ Ichigo. Do you know what you are asking Ichigo to _do_?"  
"Yeah…I'm asking him to become a candidate, and eventually, a captain" answered Shuuhei impatiently. Rukia stared him in the eye and sighed heavily.

"You're asking him…to _die_."

Shuuhei blinked several times, not exactly understanding what Rukia meant.  
"W―What do you mean?"  
"Exactly what I said. You're asking Ichigo to _die_. By his own free will as well. You're asking Ichigo to give up all _human_ desires so that he can appease Soul Society's desires."  
"But how the hell can human desires even compare to how much Soul Society needs him? We're talking about the _world_ here. The world _needs_ a capable person like him to protect the balance between life and death."  
"Don't lecture me on life and death, Hisagi…" spoke Rukia coldly now. In fact, the entire atmosphere around them began to get deathly frigid, dropping several degrees. Shuuhei had forgotten that with Hitsugaya gone, Rukia was the most adept ice-zanpakutou user. Her voice rang through the chilly air. "I know life and death just as well as you do, if not better." Her eyes glazed over momentarily as she stared blankly at the cherry blossom tree. Shuuhei understood what she meant. Rukia had suffered greatly during the Arrancar war, being forced to watch Byakuya die before her as she stood helplessly on the side and being forced to kill Ukitake-taichou who had been possessed and deranged by the Arrancars…Shuuhei respected her deeply. He hadn't meant to offend her, but he knew he was speaking the truth. She suddenly snapped out of her lapse in consciousness and continued speaking as if nothing happened.

"Ichigo…he became a shinigami to protect his family. He felt the desire, the _reason_ to protect his family…and eventually, that reason came to include his friends too." Rukia touched her fingers to her cheek now, as if remembering how someone had held her there so many years ago. But when she turned to face Shuuhei, her face changed from blissful reverie to sorrow and remorse. "If he had felt the reason to protect the world was that important, he would've became a captain long ago. But as it is…he is _not_ a captain, thank God. You simply cannot force someone to sacrifice themselves, even if for the greater good."  
"But he's not _sacrificing_ himself. He's still going to be alive…just in spirit form."  
"…He's not sacrificing himself per se, but he's sacrificing a potentially happy future. A future where he could actually be what he wants to be. Now that I think about it, have you ever considered that he might want to be something else other than a captain? What makes you think being a captain is the ideal job, a job that everyone would want?"

Nothing really made Shuuhei think that. In fact, the job of captain was probably the _least_ ideal job. Sure, you had respect and power, but what of the responsibilities? What of the dangerous battles? What of the damn paperwork? None of these prospects screamed 'happy job'!  
"I…I see…" stammered Shuuhei as he bowed his head in shame. He suddenly realized how…selfish he had been. He had been trying so hard to accomplish his mission that he had completely disregarded the consequences. What kind of lieutenant did of that? A weak one, apparently. He choked back feelings of despair as he realized that in his effort to prove himself strong, he had once again proven himself weak-minded.  
"Thanks, Rukia. Didn't know I was putting him in that kind of position…" Rukia smiled gently as Shuuhei walked towards the center of the courtyard. From her spot, Rukia clapped her hands together and summoned forth the gate to take Shuuhei back to the human world. Shuuhei bowed slightly to thank her and started to walk through the door, when Rukia stopped him halfway.  
"Hisagi…you wanted to know how Ichigo thinks?" Shuuhei stopped, one foot anchored in Soul Society and the other adrift in the portal. He turned around and looked at Rukia. Her head was slightly bowed, as if she refused to make eye contact with him. "I can only think of one reason why anyone would be willing to die, and I'm sure Ichigo thinks this way too." Shuuhei lifted his eyebrow, wondering why Rukia would be telling him this after that lecture she had just given him.  
"Ichigo would die for his friends and family. He would die, for lack of better words, for the ones he cared for." Shuuhei stared at the suddenly distant captain, who seemed so very fragile at that moment. Her voice seemed torn apart, as if her brain was pleading with her not to impart such valuable information, yet her conscience urged her to do otherwise. Shuuhei stood thoughtfully for a moment and finally picked his response carefully.  
"That…that was…pretty cliché, Rukia," chuckled Shuuhei as he turned his back on her.  
"Baka…" but Rukia couldn't finish scolding Shuuhei. His communicator started beeping and he flipped it open in an instant.  
"Damn. Seems there's some hollows back at Ichigo's place" cursed Shuuhei as he ran through the portal without another word. Rukia scowled and made a motion to stand up and follow Shuuhei back to the human world, but sat back down. Worried as she was, she wasn't about to go back on her word.

"I'd wish you listened to others more, Hisagi…there's a lot that you would notice just by listening," sighed Rukia. Shuuhei's head suddenly popped back through the portal.  
"But I do listen…" Rukia fell back in surprise, mouth hanging agape as she stared at the head floating in mid-air. He winked at her and let it fade into the portal as he shouted his last words.  
"Could you do me a favor and not lift Ichigo's limit? I wanna try something." Rukia closed the portal with a wave of her hand. She wasn't the one in charge of limit lifting, but she supposed she could pass a message along.

As Rukia walked through the courtyard, taking in the breath-taking sight of a full moon, she picked up a cherry blossom that had fallen to the ground, almost completely intact. She leaned down to the ground and picked up a random petal and put it in the gap between the blossom's petals. Amazingly, it fit perfectly. A gentle breeze blew through her hair as it reminded her of something she forgot to tell Hisagi.  
"You find friends in the people you least expect it…" she sighed as she remembered Ichigo, Ishida, Orihime, and Chad, all coming to her rescue, even though they had known her for such a limited time.  
"…But when you realize that the person you least expect to be a friend, is _indeed_ a friend…you realize that they're worth dying for as well. You'd die for them, out of care, I suppose…" Rukia gently clasped the complete blossom in her hand, as she thought of a better word choice. Care was too weak a word to associate with death.

"You'd die for them, out of love."

Satisfied at finding the right words, she brought the lone blossom into the building, and placed it before Byakuya and Hisana's altar.

TBC

In the last chapter, seems Orihime wasn't very well liked…guess I shouldn't have included her…I'll eventually go back and edit her part I guess.

Ahhh, I kid. Despite how some might like editing her out better, I find it hard to go back and completely reediting that portion of my fic…some might call it being stubborn/lazy, but I call it being strong-willed. I suppose it might please more readers to change it, but then again that'd be compromising my integrity and belief in my own plot.

Anyhow, R&R as always. It always energizing to find friendly reviews (this serves as the basic "happy" energy) and critical reviews as well (this is the awkward "discouraged yet at the same time inspired" energy).


	6. Shards of Fate

I love you reviewers…you make me feel loved. Anyhow, I've been noticing that I haven't been putting enough _actual _ShuuheiXIchigo moments as of late…so sorry about that. But I promise you, major development between these two in this chapter. R&R and enjoy.

CH6: Shards of Fate

Shuuhei rushed to the point indicated on his communicator only to find that Ichigo had already gotten there first…and had disposed of the hollows as well. Sighing, as his plan had already failed before it even had a chance, he approached Ichigo from behind and took the younger boy in a playful headlock.  
"…You took my kills you bastard. The least you could've done was wait…"  
"You make it sound like I should've waited for them to rip open for a new asshole for me." Shuuhei laughed at Ichigo's…interesting choice of words. He let the boy free and patted the boy's hair warmly.  
"Tch, I'm not a kid y'know," grumbled Ichigo.  
"Compared to me, you're not even a baby. You're like an egg cell that just got sperminated." Shuuhei spoke the truth. The age gap between them was _that_ immense, yet Shuuhei looked at most one year older than Ichigo.  
"Yeah well, you act like a teen anyways, so no one would be able to tell the difference." Ichigo smirked as he looked at the shinigami's face. He had seen the face time and time again, but now was the first time that they had free time to talk about Shuuhei's scars and tattoo. "Oye, Shuuhei. Why'd you get a tattoo on your face?" asked Ichigo curiously.  
"Geez, you're just like every other damn shinigami. It's not fucking sex-related."  
"Well…I didn't say it was. I was just wondering what it meant."  
"It's the level of Rukongai that I came from."  
"Ah…I see." The two started walking back to Ichigo's house in silence. After a while, Ichigo started talking again, as if the silence unsettled him. "Yeah, I kinda assumed 69 was your lucky number or something…" Shuuhei stared at the other boy curiously. "My lucky number is 15…" added Ichigo lamely after waiting several moments for Shuuhei to respond.  
"…You don't think I'm a sex freak or anything?"  
"W―Why would I think that?" chuckled Ichigo nervously as he shuffled ahead a few steps. In truth, he had always suspected Shuuhei to be the sex freak/player type, but that was based on his devilishly good looks.  
"Well most people see the '69' and automatically think sex."  
"Why's that?"  
"Well because, you know…'69'…the whole sex thing…" Ichigo stared at Shuuhei blankly, as if he had no idea what Shuuhei was talking about. "You know…'69'…geez, I don't know how much more clearer I can get." Ichigo still stared at him blankly. "It's like you have no idea what it means."  
"It's a number…that comes after 68 and before 70. But I'm guessing it means more than that from what you're saying…" Now it was Shuuhei's turn to stare at Ichigo blankly.  
"You donno what it means?"  
"Is it s'posed to mean something?" Shuuhei stopped walking as he contemplated explaining the number and its origin to Ichigo but decided that he'd rather not corrupt the innocent boy.  
"Y'know what? Just head back to the house without me. I need to go run a quick patrol. I'll be back in time for dinner." Ichigo's face was still vexed with curiosity over this special number but dropped it. He nodded as he waved a lazy hand at Shuuhei and flash stepped home. Shuuhei sighed, watching the boy disappear in an instant. He really had no idea that the boy was so…naïve. Although captains didn't exactly need to know that kind of knowledge, a small part of his brain was worried about how much the boy's naivety would impair his ability to lead a division.

Ichigo jumped through the second story window and landed lightly in his room. He walked over to his body on his bed and felt his spirit get reabsorbed back into the body. He sat up after regaining control of his body and started to get out of bed when his eyes drifted to Shuuhei's motionless gigai. Ichigo sat down next to it and examined the face. Part of his mind liked the face he saw now: clean, pure, and almost unmarred except for the long gray strip extending over the bridge of his nose. But another part of his mind liked the shinigami face more, with its scar and tattoo. The scar seemed to portray the tough-guy image and the tattoo seemed to depict Shuuhei's wild side, assuming the number '69' had the sexual implications Shuuhei had seemed to suggest it had. He poked and prodded the gigai, as if expecting the body to react, but wasn't surprised when there was no response. Bored, he got out of bed…but almost immediately got back in. A sudden curious thought had overtaken his mind and he was determined to satisfy his inquiring mind: did gigais have all the features of a human body? Sure, it had the hair, skin, hands, face, feet, muscles, abs, ass…etc. But did it have _the_ essential feature? _The_ feature that defined gender? Ichigo had never thought to ask anyone using a gigai before, and decided that now was as good a time as any other to find out, seeing as no one was around to stop him. Hands hesitant and reluctant, he reached for the crotch area and placed his hand slowly and gently down. At first contact, it seemed as if nothing was there. He urged himself to squeeze a bit to check, and found that there was still no sign of anything there. He retracted his hand gingerly and concluded that gigais didn't need the feature anyways. He stood up and walked through the door.

Only to walk back through the door again. This time, he slammed the door closed and locked it. Shuuhei went to the bathroom all the time, so he _had_ to have the hunk of muscle there…right? Ichigo gulped as he forced himself closer to the motionless gigai. There was only _one_ way to be positively sure. He undid the belt around Shuuhei's waist and undid the zipper reluctantly. He then opened the button and pulled the pants down a bit. Ichigo's breath sped up frantically now as he neared the last layer of defense that Shuuhei had. His hand crawled up the thin layer that was Shuuhei's boxer and let it creep further up until it reached the waistband. 'This…this is it…' said Ichigo inbetween deep breaths. 'It's not like I'm doing anything wrong…it's…it's biology after all…' said Ichigo as he reassured himself. 'Now or never…' shouted Ichigo to himself as he pulled the boxers all the way down.

Ichigo blushed. A bright red. A bright, _bright_ red. He then covered his nose as a spurt of blood escaped. His suspicions confirmed, he dressed Shuuhei's gigai back up and got up to leave the room. As he went downstairs, two things bothered him in particular. First was that he had actually enjoyed doing what he just did. It just wasn't normal. Guys don't nosebleed at seeing other guys. Nor did guys get as…'provoked' as Ichigo did. In fact, he was pretty damn sure that guys were never supposed to get 'provoked' over other guys. It just wasn't natural. He sighed as he tried to calm his breathing down (and Little Ichigo as well) and entered the dining room. The second thing that bothered him wasn't so much a pang of conscience, but rather, a bit of…envy. Although he wasn't exactly sure, it seemed that the gigai was…a moderately decent size. It seemed slightly bigger than ordinary (basing ordinary on his own size), but in any event, the fact that an artificial body had a bigger penis than Ichigo was enough to spark an inferiority complex.

Ichigo entered the dining room and sat down at the table. Sighing slightly, he propped up his face with one of his hands as he changed his face from disappointment to boredom. That was when he noticed something was slightly awry…the table wasn't set. Sighing as he got up to set the table, he noticed something _else_ that was slightly askew…Yuzu's cooking couldn't be smelt throughout the house. He walked into the kitchen and found it completely empty. It was relatively clean and showed no evidence of Yuzu having been in there at all that day. A little worried, Ichigo turned to run up the stairs to check if the sisters were even home, but stopped when he saw a note on the fridge. Plucking it off the appliance, he read the note to himself:

"Onii-san and…Onii-san #2! Otou-san, Karin-chan, and I have gone out to dinner (sushi…yum yum). We would've taken you guys too but you guys got didn't get home in time…oh well! Anyhow, I had originally planned to make oysters for dinner tonight but since I'm going out to dinner, why don't you two grill the oysters and eat it yourself? They're in the sink, cleaned and ready to be grilled. --Yuzu"

He cursed aloud for missing such this rare chance. He let out a frustrated yell as he kicked the refrigerator…then let out another yell, this time a yell of pain.  
"The hell are you doing…" Ichigo stopped hopping around on his foot as he shuffled around on one foot to face Shuuhei. Shuuhei was back in his gigai and had disposed of his uniform and was stripped down to the basic shirt and boxers. Ichigo blushed slightly, recalling what he had learned just moments ago, then lost balance and fell forward. Shuuhei immediately stepped forward and caught him by the shoulders.  
"You alright?" he asked gruffly. Ichigo looked up at Shuuhei, but suddenly felt ashamed and bowed his head…which turned out to be a worse choice, as his eyes lingered down to the slight bulge in Shuuhei's boxers.  
"Of, of course I'm alright!" stammered Ichigo as he got back up on his feet and turned around to hide his beet red face. "The family went out to have sushi! So we're eating at home today!" shouted Ichigo, trying to cover up the embarrassment in his voice.  
"Ah, damn…and I was in the mood for sushi too," sighed Shuuhei as he brushed past Ichigo to see what was in the sink. "Oh, hell yeah! We got oysters!" Shuuhei reached in and picked up the crate of oysters and ran out to the back yard as he started to set up the grill. Ichigo, still in a slight state of shock, just stared at the other man who was running back and forth, looking for trays, tongs, racks, and various other equipment.

He didn't know why, but at that moment, the world seemed to be perfect: a happy family, good grades in school…and Shuuhei. Sure, there were the occasional hollows, but they served to be good exercise and a source of entertainment. And sure, he had no idea what to make of his undeniable 'feelings' towards Shuuhei (was it friendship or was it, God forbid, lust?), he decided that he would have plenty of time to worry about that later. For the moment, he would appreciate the cool evening and enjoy a good dinner…that is if Shuuhei didn't overcook the oysters. The man was standing next to the grill and had lit a small fire, and now was squirting an entire bottle of lighter fluid into the flame, laughing crazily as the fire flared up. Ichigo chuckled to himself and decided that he had better stop Shuuhei before he blew the grill sky high.

The two sat underneath the awning in the backyard as they watched the last of the oysters on the grill rack sizzle and fizz above the open flame. Ichigo let out a soft sigh, followed by Shuuhei's hearty sigh. Simultaneously, they each slurped down their own oyster, customized to their individual tastes (lemon juice for Ichigo and hot sauce for Shuuhei). Grunting loudly, Shuuhei stood up and ran back into the kitchen, claming to get something else to eat. Ichigo just nodded and cast his shell aside as he dug his bare feet deeper into the cool grass. The feel of grass blades inbetween his toes tickled him a bit and he let out a soft laugh. It really had been a long time since he last ate in the backyard and an even longer time since he last had used the grill. Heck, it had been a long time since he last had oysters for dinner, and he supposed it had been an eternity since he last had a _peaceful_ dinner with just one other person. It suddenly struck Ichigo as odd that he was thinking all these sentimental thoughts. But then again, after all that had happened in the last few months, from meeting Rukia, to going to Soul Society to save Rukia, to fighting the Arrancar, Ichigo supposed that the free time to contemplate his life was a welcome change. Sighing as he put on a content grin, he turned to see what was taking Shuuhei so long. Shuuhei was walking through the door at that very moment, a bottle of unknown content wedged into a bucket of ice in hand.  
"What's that?" asked Ichigo, although he had a good idea what it was.  
"Sake," answered Shuuhei. Ichigo scowled at him.  
"I'm underage y'know…"  
"Didn't say you had to drink any."  
"Tch…fine."

The two sat quietly, each one hesitating to start a conversation. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Shuuhei started to chuckle aloud.  
"This always happens," he said as his chuckle died down.  
"What happens?"  
"This. Every time it's just the two of us. We say a few words here and there, but then we eventually end up sitting on our asses not saying anything." Ichigo blinked a few times and chuckled as well. This _always_ happened. From the day Shuuhei had moved into Ichigo's room, to the walks to and from school, the two had always exchanged the bare minimum of words.  
"It's 'cause you're so damn boring," said Ichigo loudly, suddenly forgetting his hesitation.  
"Hah, takes one to know one," laughed Shuuhei as he threw Ichigo an oyster. Ichigo juggled the hot shell back and forth between his hands and cursed aloud as it landed on his foot.  
"Damn bastard…" muttered Ichigo as he squeezed lemon juice onto the oyster flesh and swallowed it whole in one gulp. Shuuhei just continued laughing as he opened the chilled bottle of sake.  
"…Am I really that boring?" asked Shuuhei seriously after taking a long swig of sake.  
"Yeah well, all you ever do is talk about captain this and captain that. The one time you didn't talk about captains was when you were talking about a mission. Either way, it's always job related." Shuuhei stared at the boy and grinned slightly as he took another drink.  
"I guess it's all I got to live for, yeah?"  
"Well that's a crap life," said Ichigo as he sat up straight and nodded his head decisively.  
"What about you then? You don't even speak unless spoken too. At least I got something I can talk about."  
"I _do_ got stuff to talk about…" grumbled an irritated Ichigo.  
"Yeah? Talk to me then," challenged Shuuhei as he sat down in front of Ichigo now, face to face. Shuuhei smirked when Ichigo refused to make eye contact wit him. "Ah, I think I know why you got such a stiff lip. You needa warm up, that's all!" laughed Shuuhei as he held Ichigo's chin up and poured sake into his open mouth.  
"I'M UNDERAGE DAMN IT!" he sputtered aloud after swallowing.  
"So why'd you swallow…"  
"I…I…" stuttered Ichigo as he tried to think of an excuse.  
"Cause it tastes damn good, right? Thought so," laughed Shuuhei as he stuffed the lip of the bottle into Ichigo's mouth and tipped it up so that the sake gushed forth into his mouth. Ichigo swallowed once more and wiped the liquid off his lip as he yelled at Shuuhei again.  
"Ah, shut up Ichigo. You know you like it," chuckled Shuuhei as he took a long drink from the bottle. Ichigo didn't answer. Shuuhei looked over and saw that the boy was laying sprawled on his back. He leaned over and saw that the boy's eyes were slightly glazed over and his face was turning a deep red, both signs that he was drunk. His eyelids drooped low and showed signs of falling asleep at any moment.  
"Tch…you have low tolerance for alcohol, eh?" sighed Shuuhei. "Well it's all good. I'd rather you listen to me quietly than talk back." Ichigo groaned in response.

Shuuhei sat next to Ichigo, alternating between giving himself a drink and giving Ichigo a drink. After pouring a little more sake into Ichigo's mouth, Shuuhei decided that the boy was inebriated enough to just lie there and listen.  
"Y'know, you've caused me a lotta trouble these past few months," said Shuuhei as he sat with his knees drawn up to his chest. "First making me chase after you and your friends after breaking into the Sereitei…then making me cover up for all your rash decisions during your battles with the Arrancar…and now this. You're a _lotta_ trouble." Ichigo shifted slightly in his drunken daze as he crawled closer to Shuuhei. Shuuhei made no attempt to push him away, and instead kept talking. "I wonder if you're really worth all the trouble."  
"I…I am…" groaned Ichigo inbetween hiccups.  
"Still awake? Damn…no sake left for ya. Oh well."  
"I am…I am worth the trouble," groaned Ichigo aloud as he gripped at Shuuhei's shoulder to get up onto his ass.  
"Heh, what makes you say that?" asked Shuuhei as he stared ay the dying flame in the grill.  
"Because…because I like you," said Ichigo as he slung one arm around Shuuhei's back. Shuuhei let out a soft laugh but didn't push Ichigo away.  
"You're really drunk aren't you…" Ichigo nodded dumbly as he hugged Shuuhei close. Shuuhei still didn't push Ichigo away. And he didn't know why. Why was he letting the boy get so close to him?  
"Y'know…I was just thinking about how…how _perfect_ my life is right now…" sighed Ichigo as he swooned back and forth. "I mean…sure I'm confused…about you, that is…but hell, I can't complain can I? I got…got everything I want…" said Ichigo as he slurred countless words together.  
"Confused about what?"  
"About…about why you're…so damn sexxxy…but you're a guy. Guys don't like guys…" Shuuhei chuckled as he patted Ichigo's bright orange hair. It was hard to believe that the boy sitting next to him had killed so many, and yet was so innocent.  
"It's called being gay."  
"Really now…so I'm being gay?" asked Ichigo as he drifted between consciousness and sleep.  
"Yeah…" said Shuuhei. Suddenly, Ichigo's hand slid up Shuuhei's chest to his chin and turned Shuuhei to face Ichigo. The moon seemed to shine brighter at that moment, and it revealed the soft complexion of Ichigo's face. Shuuhei's breath got shorter and quicker as his eyes focused in on every feature on Ichigo's face, and finally settled on staring into Ichigo's eyes. If it weren't for the alcohol, Shuuhei could've sworn he'd see his reflection in the dark depths of those eyes. Finally, Ichigo broke their stare and closed his eyes as he leaned forward, and kissed Shuuhei upon the lips.

Lightly, softly, but still definitely a kiss, Ichigo's lips leapt forward to embrace Shuuhei's lips, and Shuuhei in turn received the kiss willingly. Simple, long, and slow, the kiss lasted unbroken for several minutes…and would've continued longer had Ichigo remembered to breathe. But in his drunken state, Shuuhei was surprised that Ichigo even knew how to kiss. Breaking their contact, Ichigo opened his eyes slowly and smiled warmly.  
"I don't mind being gay…" sighed Ichigo as he let out a long breath, and fell flat on his back. Shuuhei opened his eyes after he heard the dull thud of Ichigo's body, face still emotionless. He looked on the boy fondly and almost smiled, but repressed it as he thought of what he was going to do next.  
"Yeah…I guess I don't mind either." Shuuhei had never really confronted his sexuality before, and he had long ago decided that he should keep such desires to his usual morning and evening splurges. But now, as he looked the boy over, he felt like breaking that vow. He shook his head vigorously as he tried to lose the thought; those kind of thoughts interfered with his work. Shuuhei turned away and drew his knees even closer to his chest. He was hoping that what he was going to do next would've been easier, but with Ichigo's confession (even if it was drunken) and the little kiss they shared…killing Ichigo would not be easy.

He picked up the empty bottle and brought it down hard upon the ground, letting the air resound with sound of shattering glass. He shivered slightly as he took the broken bottle by the handle and turned to point the jagged edges at Ichigo's throat. Ichigo lay there, still asleep, and murmured soft nothings to the night. Shuuhei shivered even more now, as he inched the bottle's edges even closer to Ichigo's flesh.  
"Y'know…once you're dead, I'll finally be able to finish my mission…and I won't be so damn weak anymore…" muttered Shuuhei. His entire body shivered now, as if the air was getting colder by the minute. He gripped the handle tighter, as if trying to tighten his resolve. He kept telling himself that it was his job, that it was the betterment for the world, that Soul Society depended on him…but now he wasn't sure. He shivered as he tried a different approach at convincing himself. "Y'know once you're dead…I guess…I guess we can be together and all…that is if you still like me…" Shuuhei said the last sentence reluctantly and with spite. He finally placed the tip of the sharp edge at Ichigo's throat and pressed lightly, making a little dent in the otherwise perfect skin. Ichigo gasped slightly, but continued to sleep. Shuuhei sat there, crouched over Ichigo, mere seconds away from killing him, but frozen in hesitation. Sweat formed at the corners of his forehead and his breathing started to get erratic, and he cursed his body for shivering uncontrollably. 'Why does it have to be this way?' he thought suddenly. 'Why can't he be both human and captain?' said a whisper in the back of Shuuhei's mind. His mind raced furiously, bouncing from question to the next, and they all started with why. 'Why did you have to tell me that Ichigo?' he asked weakly, feeling his resolve weaken. 'Why do you like me Ichigo?' he asked, feeling energy drain from his arms. Finally, he thrust the bottle forward and plunged it into the softness before him.

Shuuhei sat in the middle of the yard quietly, face buried in his knees. He shuttered and groaned aloud in frustration and relief. How could he feel so _good_, yet so _terrible_ at the same time? How could he want _one_ thing, yet want the _exact opposite_ at the same time? How could he do one thing for _one_ reason, yet do another thing for the _same exact_ reason? He shook uncontrollably, and after several minutes of uninterrupted silence, he calmed himself enough to speak.  
"Did I do the right thing?"  
"…You did."  
"But…but you saw me. You saw how I hesitated. You saw how long I had to fight with myself before doing that…am I weak?" There was a long silence.

"…No. I think you're that much stronger for not killing Ichigo.  
"But…but I _couldn't _kill him. You were watching me the whole time…" Shuuhei looked up and glanced at the icy demeanor of Kuchiki Rukia who was balancing elegantly upon the fence.  
"It wasn't because of me. It's because you didn't _want_ to kill him…and so you didn't, thank God." Rukia smiled gently as she flash stepped down to sit next to Shuuhei.  
"I'm a fucked up guy, eh?"  
"Well…I suppose most people react differently when they are kissed." Shuuhei laughed weakly. Rukia grinned as well, but resumed her serious tone as she spoke. "I suppose this means you're still going to pursue your mission, even after what happened."  
"Yeah…" sighed Shuuhei as he stood up slowly. "Just…just not like what I did tonight."  
"That's good to hear," said Rukia as she remained sitting. "Can you promise me one thing?"  
"Hm?" asked Shuuhei as he reinstated his gruff voice. He was done angsting and back to his suave appearance.  
"Promise me you'll never hurt Ichigo," said Rukia as she lowered the temperature around them several degrees. There was a long pause between Rukia's request and Shuuhei's answer.  
"I just promised that."  
"I mean it in more ways than one."  
"And I'm telling you that I just_ promised_ that." Shuuhei walked over to Ichigo's unconscious body and picked it up with ease. Ichigo really was lighter than he seemed. Sighing, he walked through the door and into the house.  
"Thanks Rukia" he called out before closing the door and turning off the backyard light. Rukia smiled.

She continued to sit in the cool lawn and watched as the window on the second floor lit up. She watched the figure of Shuuhei drop Ichigo's limp body onto his bed. She watched as Shuuhei undressed Ichigo and put on clean clothes for him. She watched, and she was satisfied. Absentmindedly, she muttered something she had meant to say to Shuuhei earlier.

"You'll eventually come to see, Hisagi, that you'd never want to hurt Ichigo in the first place. I hope it has become clearer to you that Ichigo is actually worth _dying_ for …he's worth _loving_ and dying for."

Rukia patted herself on the back and congratulated herself for yet another spectacular display of good word choice. Now if only the same could be said for where she had chosen to sit down…She cursed aloud as she stood up and removed the shards of glass from her hakama. She had sat upon the piece of glass that Shuuhei had thrust into the grass instead of Ichigo's neck.

TBC

Little extra information for the thorough mind.

1) For the visually driven, Ichigo's and Shuuhei's sizes are 6in and 7in, respectively… damn sexy SOB's…  
2) oysters are traditional aphrodisiacs (food items that are believed to increase sexual desire/performance). I'm thinking of including oysters in all of my fanfics…

Anyhow, I do believe that this chapter was a tad bit more emotional than the last. Or maybe not.

And sorry if Shuuhei seems to be a deranged, psychopathic, obsessive, overall angsty kinda guy…not exactly my intentions for him to seem that way.

Some might find Ichigo's naivety about…certain subjects to be cute/absurd. If you're perhaps disturbed by this, no worries! He'll get more…knowledgeable over the next few chapters…of course, I'm not guaranteeing that anything explicit is going to happen.

And one last note. I love all you reviewers and I appreciate the reviews I've been getting…but reviews that say "I don't know what to say about this chapter" usually leave me with the impression that it was so crappy/shitty that there really was nothing to say. So if possible, could you leave me reviews that are a tad bit more detailed? i.e. reviews that express an opinion/criticism. Please and thank you! R&R as always.


	7. The Thoughts that Flow like Blood

Sorry for the long wait in update…driver's ed, vacationing, reading, etc. were taking up quite a bit of my time. Oh well. Anyways, thank you my glorious reviewers. I heart each and every single one of you.

Anyhow, although this chapter is mostly fluff and stuff, be on the look out for major plot development. Enjoy.

CH7: The Thoughts that Flow like Blood

Ichigo woke up relatively easily and painlessly…in terms of not having to wake up to Isshin's morning assault. On the other hand, he had a massive hangover. Memories of the night before were a little muddled, but he knew for sure that the person who fed him enough alcohol to make him pass out was none other then the man lying haphazardly in the bed next to him. Arms askew, legs wide apart, Shuuhei had taken up all of his bed as well as half of Ichigo's bed, forcing Ichigo to sleep in the cramped corner next to the window.  
"Bastard…" Ichigo muttered as he started to crawl over Shuuhei's body. Just as he was about to hop off the bed, he turned to look at the sleeping Shuuhei. His shirt was pushed up past his abs barely covering his nipples, and his boxers were hanging on his waist lower than usual; that was all Ichigo needed to wake up 'Little Ichigo'. Sighing, he mentally scolded himself for indulging in such a simple pleasure as looking at Shuuhei. He sat at the base of the bed for a moment and looked into the mirror. From what he could tell, he was relatively easy on the eyes, not exceptionally handsome but definitely not ugly. He then looked over at Shuuhei. This man, on the other hand, had the wild appeal that any person would fall for. Shuuhei stirred in his sleep, gaining Ichigo's attention once more. His heart skipped a beat as he watched Shuuhei slip a hand into his boxers. Subconsciously, he felt his mouth hang wide open and a sliver of drool drip from the corner of his mouth. Blushing, he tried to gulp and restrain the drool as he watched Shuuhei slide his hand down further. Ichigo decided that this was what made him look at Shuuhei with longing: the fact that Shuuhei was naturally sexy without even trying. Ichigo crept closer as he tried to peek into the little crevice inbetween Shuuhei's stomach and boxers. Part of him told him to get even closer, yet another part was reprimanding him for being such a damn pervert…a pervert that was looking at another _guy_ for crying out loud.  
"What are you doing?" Ichigo's face turned a pale blue as he looked up to see Shuuhei eyeing him curiously.  
"Uh…bug…a bug crawled into your clothes!" said Ichigo as he quickly tried to cover up his lie. Shuuhei was still looking at him suspiciously but sighed as he got out of bed. He stripped his shirt _and_ boxers off right in front of Ichigo.  
"No bug here…" sighed Shuuhei.  
"T―The hell are you doing?" yelled Ichigo as he jumped back. "Put your clothes back on!" Ichigo cried as he ran to the door, trying to conceal the bulge in his pants. Just as he was about to open the door, the door flew open and hit Ichigo square in the face.

"Good morning my loveable sons!" cried Isshin, flying gracefully into the room and landing neatly on Ichigo's stomach. "I see you have risen early to ambush me this morning Ichigo, but those tactics will _never _work!" he cried as he tap danced on Ichigo's stomach.  
"B―Bastard…" groaned Ichigo before passing out. Satisfied that he had won their morning battle, Isshin turned his attention to Shuuhei.  
"And how are you this morning my other son?" Shuuhei stared at the man in disbelief. What kind of father _attacked_ their son? Sure, Shuuhei had never known his own father, but seriously, what was wrong with this man? He didn't have time to contemplate this. He had to focus on Isshin who had leapt forward with a flying kick. Blocking it with both hands, Shuuhei grabbed Isshin's airborne leg and spun the man around in circles. Finally, he released the man and let him fly through the window.  
"You're improving, my other son!" cried Isshin as he flew over the roof of the house next to them.  
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" yelled Karin from her room. She banged her feet against the wall several times, and then all was quiet again. Shuuhei sighed as he leaned down to pick Ichigo up. Eyeing the boy over for any injuries, he was a little surprised to see the bulge in Ichigo's boxers.  
"Oh? You get morning wood too?" he muttered curiously as he poked and prodded the obvious erection. Chuckling quietly, he laid Ichigo back in bed quietly. That done, he could take care of his _own_ morning wood in the privacy of the bathroom.

Ichigo woke with a headache worse than the one he had originally woken up with. 'So much for not getting attacked by my old man…' sighed Ichigo as he rubbed the temples of his forehead. He got out of bed once more and made his way to the door and cautiously opened it…only to slip on a stray pair of boxers on the ground. 'This is gonna hurt…' he thought as he fell backwards and reached out to grab something to stop his fall. Miraculously, something did stop his fall…even though his hands were holding on to nothing. He opened his eyes slowly…and found himself staring straight into Shuuhei's face.  
"You alright?" asked Shuuhei genuinely. Ichigo blinked several times, before nodding dumbly. The position they were in made it seem as if they were doing a complex tango maneuver, with Shuuhei in a forward lunging stance, his right hand grasping Ichigo's wrist firmly, and his left arm carefully wrapped around Ichigo's waist. They stood stone still in that position for several minutes, before Ichigo realized that Shuuhei's hand was slowly moving downwards, getting _uncomfortably_ close to his ass. Out of reflex more than offense, Ichigo kneed Shuuhei in the stomach.  
"The…the hell…" groaned Shuuhei as he collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.  
"Sorry! I…uh…I'm really hungry and you were blocking my way," chuckled Ichigo nervously as he sidestepped Shuuhei's punch.  
"B―Bastard…" panted Shuuhei as he got up on his feet. "That could've knocked me out…"  
"W―Wait a sec!" said Ichigo, now annoyed. "Who got me drunk last night? Eh? Who made me pass out? Yeah, that's right, _you_. So you damn well deserved that." Ichigo turned around gruffly and walked down the stairs, ignoring the now grinning Shuuhei.  
"I'll be damned if I don't get you drunk _again_ tonight…" chuckled Shuuhei devilishly as he followed Ichigo down the stairs.

"Otou-san is busy today so I want you two to take good care of your sisters, you got that?" asked Isshin in a booming voice. Ichigo sighed and nodded as he played with his cereal while Shuuhei wolfed down his breakfast.

"I thought you were _hungry_," said Shuuhei in between mouthfuls as he kicked Ichigo in the shin. Ichigo opened his mouth to shoot back a retort but was cut off by Yuzu.  
"We wanna go to the bookstore!" cried his little sister as she hung onto the sleeve of his shirt.  
"_You_ do that. _I'll_ go to the arcade," announced Karin as she finished her breakfast quickly. "You're going with me, right Shuuhei?"  
"What? How come you don't ask me?" grumbled Ichigo.  
"But you're going with me, onii-san!" pleaded Yuzu as she clung tightly to Ichigo. Ichigo and his two sisters argued back and forth for several minutes, before Isshin finall interrupted.  
"Then it's decided! Ichigo! Go with Yuzu to the bookstore!" Ichigo scowled and shot Isshin a death stare. Isshin brushed it off as he continued shouting across the table. "Shuuhei! Go with Karin to the arcade…" Karin jumped from her seat and shot her right first straight into the air.  
"Alright!" shouted Karin joyfully.  
"…of books!" finished Isshin. Karin's face changed from pure ecstasy to displeasure in one second flat. "Now stop stalling and go! I need to get ready for my appointment!" roared Isshin as he pushed all 4 of the kids out of the house. "Here's some money. Don't come back till you've spent it all!" he said as he threw his wallet through the door and slammed it shut. The group sighed as they turned around and started heading out. After a few minutes of walking, Karin spoke up.  
"Well then…let's go to the arcade…" chuckled Karin evilly as she tugged Shuuhei to follow her.  
"ARCADE OF BOOKS, YOU MEAN!" yelled Isshin from atop of the roof of the house they were standing next to. Karin sweatdropped and nodded her head in defeat.

Yuzu's bookstore of choice turned out to be one of those specialized bookstores, devoted entirely to shounen-ai and yaoi.  
"I'm not going in there," growled Ichigo as he sat down outside of the store.  
"Yes you are," insisted Yuzu as she pulled Ichigo's arm.  
"No way in hell."  
"Help me out here Karin!" Much to Ichigo's surprise, Karin came over and started pulling his arm as well.  
"The hell? I thought you wanted to go to the arcade…"  
"Well Yuzu didn't tell me we were going to _this_ store."  
"Y―You like this kinda stuff too?" asked Ichigo in disbelief, recoiling from his two sisters in shock. The two girls sighed and started tapping their feet in impatience. Ichigo shook his head in disbelief as he muttered incoherent words, angrily to himself. It wasn't that he didn't like this genre of literature…no, it was quite the opposite. He was intrigued, and God forbid, almost fascinated by it. Never having read anything of the sort, he was actually curious to see what the books had to say…and see if they could perhaps give him some…_insight_ on his situation with Shuuhei. He glanced quickly at Shuuhei to see the other man's reaction to the whole predicament…and found that Shuuhei was already inside the store with Yuzu.  
"Traitor!" yelled Ichigo angrily.  
"Shut up!" yelled Karin as she swung a kick to the back of his head, effectively knocking him out.

Ichigo woke with a searing headache, even _more_ painful than the one he had gotten from the hangover and the one from Isshin combined. At first, he couldn't understand why a little kick from his sister could cause him so much pain. But after registering his thoughts and sensing his surroundings, he realized that the headache wasn't coming from the kick; it was coming from a strange high-pitched sound that reverberated through the air. He opened his eyes cautiously and found himself sitting in the corner of a large room, filled with shelves after shelves, rows after rows, books after books of shounen-ai/yaoi. 'This can't be happening…' muttered Ichigo in disbelief as he rubbed his eyes. But much to his horror, it was. And what was worse was the fact that girls were everywhere, clawing, clutching, clamoring over one another for the books. It was then he realized that the sound was actually the ecstatic cries of the girls standing around the store. After finding a suitable book, each girl would sit down on the spot, open the book, and start reading. And every so often, a girl would close her eyes and squeal in delight. Ichigo stood up slowly and scanned the aisles, looking for the tell-tale signs of his sisters, so that they could ditch the place as soon as possible, but to no avail. After minutes of standing and looking, he gave up and decided to actually try walking and looking. As he walked through the aisles, he noticed a large amount of eyes watching his every movement. Feeling uneasy, he picked up his pace and walked through the aisles at a quicker pace. The eyes still followed him. He picked up his pace once more. Eyes _still _following him. He was at a slow jog now. Even _more_ eyes following him now. Finally, Ichigo lost his temper and turned to a group of girls standing close by. As suspected, they were gawking at him as well.  
"The hell's wrong with you guys!" he shouted aloud. The girls didn't respond. Instead, they slowly opened the books they had in their hands and looked into them. Ichigo's left eye twitched in annoyance. "First you stare at me, and now you're ignoring me!" he asked loudly. The girls looked up from their books. A quiet murmur started to rise from the group.  
"He's pouting…"  
"So cute…"  
"Just like that one guy from that one book…"  
"He's a real good looker too…"  
"He's dead gorgeous…"  
Ichigo started to step back away slowly now, both eyes twitching, this time from panic. 'S―Scary…' thought Ichigo to himself as he backed into another group of girls. This group was staring at him intently as well. Whispers grew louder now, threatening to break into loud conversations. Ichigo tried to tune the words out as he walked in another direction. 'So many girls…' thought Ichigo as he shuttered and continued walking. Again, he walking into yet_ another_ group of females…however, this group seemed to consist of middle-aged women only. They were literally drooling as they gazed dreamily at Ichigo.  
"S―Shit!" yelled Ichigo as he turned the other way and ran as fast as his human legs could carry him. Heads turned, eyes snapped, mouths murmuring loudly, it was apparent now that each and every female was focused in on Ichigo. Ichigo ran even faster now, not caring where to, as long as he could avoid the constant staring. Closing eyes, he ran blindly…only to crash right into Shuuhei, knocking them both to the floor.  
"Tch…watch where you're going Ichigo," grumbled Shuuhei as he stood up.  
"S―Sorry…" said Ichigo as Shuuhei grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

It was then that Ichigo noticed the deathly silence hanging in the air. He did a full 360 degree roundabout as he scanned the faces of the countless girls now staring at him…or to be exact, _Shuuhei_ and him.  
"Let's get out of here…" said Ichigo said as he craned his neck to get close to Shuuhei's ear. Suddenly, the group of middle-aged women sighed loudly as they clapped their hands together.  
"So…beautiful!" they cried in unison as tears streamed down their face…and blood gushed out of their noses. Meanwhile, Shuuhei was grinning amusedly now. 'This situation might just work to my benefit' he thought to himself.  
"You know, I can get them off your back…if you promise me something."  
"What?" whispered Ichigo loudly into Shuuhei's ear. Up close, one could probably tell they were just talking. But from faraway, as many of the girls were, it looked like a passionate embrace between two handsome men, each landing a soft kiss upon each other's neck. Squinting their eyes in ecstasy, the girls squealed loudly as blood streamed out of their noses…soon followed by the dull thuds of their bodies collapsing to the floor due to blood loss. Ichigo tugged on Shuuhei's shirt to get him to explain.  
"It's really just a simple condition."  
"Then tell me…" whispered Ichigo hoarsely. More girls were collapsing around them now.  
"Come to Soul Society and serve as a captain…for a month."  
"Wh―What?" asked Ichigo in disbelief as he pulled his face away.  
"Too much?" asked a disappointed Shuuhei. "How about a week then?"  
"I…uh…well…this is blackmail you know," muttered Ichigo sheepishly.  
"Say yes and I'll get rid of the girls…" cooed Shuuhei. Ichigo sighed. 'Why did it have to come to this?' He cursed his luck under his breath and finally nodded.  
"Yes," grumbled Ichigo as he tried to avert his gaze from Shuuhei's piercing eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, Shuuhei slipped his right leg behind Ichigo's left leg and pushed the boy forward, knocking him off balance. As Ichigo fell backwards, he shot his hand out and tried to grab at Shuuhei's shirt…but missed. But before his back could make contact with the floor, Shuuhei' arms shot out and wrapped around Ichigo in a loose embrace, much like the embrace they had earlier that morning. One arm bracing the area right above Ichigo's waist and one arm lifting Ichigo's right leg slightly, Shuuhei had put them in quite a seductive pose. By this point, half of the crowd was squealing with delirious bliss, fainting one after another. But that still left the other half, gaping intently at the two men in a forbidden embrace, blushing and giggling, waiting for what was to come next.  
"The hell!" growled Ichigo ferociously as he tried to squirm out of Shuuhei's hold.  
"You wanna get out of here don't you?" growled Shuuhei just as ferociously, sliding his right hand slowly down Ichigo's now extended leg and grasping the back of Ichigo's shirt with all his might.  
"Y―Yeah…" grumbled Ichigo. "But…but this is _embarrassing_…" Shuuhei smirked. He leaned forward and brought his face dangerously close to Ichigo's face. A loud gasp swept through the still-conscious half of the audience.  
"_This_, is nothing…compared to this," whispered Shuuhei as he groped Ichigo's thigh. Without a warning, Shuuhei tilted his face to a favorable angle, and went in for a deep kiss.

Longer, deeper, and more passionate than the night before, Shuuhei was in control of their lip-lock this time, and he wanted to make it last as long as he could. Surprised at the lack of resistance from Ichigo, Shuuhei pushed their kiss further, and finally managed to brush his tongue lightly against Ichigo's lip. Still no resistance. Rather, there was a response: he could've sworn he felt Ichigo's tongue flicker against his own, if only for a moment. Shuuhei smirked slightly as he tried to push his tongue further in, but stopped when he felt a hand grab his neck, thumb applied directly to his Adam's apple.  
"Bastard…" said Ichigo as he gasped for air. Although the kiss hadn't been that long, he had forgotten to breathe, so now found himself panting. "The hell was that for?"  
"It…got…rid…of them…didn't it?" chuckled Shuuhei, albeit the fact that Ichigo's grip on his throat was cutting off much of his air. True enough, as Ichigo's breathing got calmer, he was able to register the _extraordinarily_ high pitched squealing (almost on par with a dog whistle) of the girls around him. One by one the girls started to swoon and fall over, either from blood loss through the nose or from lack of oxygen due to squealing for too long. In mere moments, the crowd of over a hundred people was decimated and reduced to nothing, blood strewn and covering the floor like a war torn battlefield.  
"Shit…" said Ichigo in surprise, as he surveyed the ruin they had laid upon the bookstore. "This is worse than any battle we've been in, eh?"  
"Let…me…go…" groaned Shuuhei. Ichigo was still holding him by the neck, and Shuuhei's face was slowly turning blue.  
"Ah…I wonder if I should. After all, you took advantage of me back there…" said Ichigo as he grinned devilishly. Shuuhei grinned as well, making Ichigo raise his eyebrow in suspicion. Faster than he could react, Shuuhei slipped out of Ichigo's grip and had Ichigo's head underneath his right arm in a powerful headlock.  
"Tch…" sighed Shuuhei lazily. "Didn't see that coming, did you?" Ichigo scowled as he tried to get out of Shuuhei's lock, making the older boy laugh heartily as he ruffled Ichigo's hair. "So…you gonna keep your word?"  
"Let me go!" growled Ichigo as he struggled.  
"Well tell me if you gonna keep your word."  
"Let me go first."  
"Tch…fine," grumbled Shuuhei as he let him free. Ichigo stumbled forward from the sudden release but caught his balance quickly. He rubbed his neck gently but glared at Shuuhei viciously.  
"I'll go," sighed Ichigo. These were the words Shuuhei had been waiting for ever since the beginning of his mission. The words that spelled accomplishment and satisfaction for him. The words that could make Shuuhei smile genuinely. Not a smirk, not a grin, but a genuine smile. "But under one condition."  
"Yeah?" Shuuhei really couldn't care what the condition was at this point. He was one step closer to fulfilling his mission and that was all that mattered.  
"I get to be captain of _your _division." It was Ichigo's turn to smile now, as he waited for Shuuhei's reaction. Much to his surprise, Shuuhei's smile got even wider.  
"Be my guest…" said Shuuhei in a taunting voice. "…and I mean it literally."

After finding Karin and Yuzu's bodies amidst the carnage, the four proceeded to the exit to leave. Ichigo wasn't in a particularly good or bad mood. He wasn't in a good mood because of one, all the trouble he went through today, and two, he didn't even get to read _one_ of the hundreds of books lying around in the store. But, he supposed these two drawbacks were made up for by the kiss from Shuuhei. The kiss that he had almost too eagerly responded to. Thankfully, he caught himself before he let himself go too far. Touching his lips gently, he wondered if he could get another kiss like that again. In fact, he _hoped_ he could get another kiss like that. Why else would he consent to the week long predicament? Mulling over the thought with desire, he cursed his luck. Why couldn't Shuuhei be a girl? Hell, he'd even be happy as long as one of them was a girl. That way, it'd be normal…that way, it'd be accepted. Not that he was afraid of society's opinions. He already knew how society would react. If they couldn't even accept his _orange hair_, there was no way they'd accept him being with another man. No, he already knew how society would react, and frankly, he didn't give a damn. But there was still something in the back of his head that bothered him. Something that told him, that warned him, that _forbid_ him, from even trying to show any love towards his family or friends…let alone someone like Shuuhei. Sighing, he brushed the thought aside as he opened the door…and found a short elderly lady blocking their way out.  
"Scuse us…" muttered Ichigo as he tried to walk past the elderly lady. She spread her arms wide, as if her tiny frame had become an impenetrable wall. "Hey, granny, we wanna get through here," said Ichigo, raising his voice slightly. The old lady stood there firmly. "What's wrong with her?" said Ichigo as he turned to face Shuuhei. Carrying Yuzu's body wasn't too bad, but carrying it longer than necessary was something Ichigo would rather not do. Shuuhei shrugged as he shifted Karin's body from one arm to the other.  
"Maybe she's deaf?" asked Shuuhei lamely. Ichigo sighed and turned around to face the old lady once more.  
"WE WANT TO GET THROUGH," shouted Ichigo. The lady still refused to move. It was then that Shuuhei noticed the books sticking out of the front of her jacket. Books that resembled the books they had seen only minutes ago.  
"Hey Ichigo, let me deal with her." Ichigo sighed and let Shuuhei approach the lady.  
"So, granny, I take it you're blocking us for a reason?" The granny nodded.  
"Is it 'cause you didn't get to see the show earlier? Cause you're so short?" he asked as he lowered his voice. The granny hesitated, then nodded her head gingerly.  
"I see…" chuckled Shuuhei. "Ichigo, come here." Ichigo obediently walked up to Shuuhei. "Here, catch!" shouted Shuuhei as he tossed up Karin's body. Ichigo's arm shot out and caught her limp body.  
"The fuck are you doing to my sister!" yelled Ichigo. Shuuhei smiled. Ichigo had let his guard down. Shuuhei grabbed the back of Ichigo's throat and pulled him close for yet another passionate kiss. Arms full, Ichigo couldn't fight back, even if he had wanted too. As they kissed, Shuuhei opened one eye to see the granny's reaction. She was giggling and blushing furiously, when she suddenly opened her mouth wide and stuck out her tongue and pointed at it. Shuuhei understood what she was getting at, and opened his mouth wide as well as he stuck his tongue into Ichigo's unsuspecting mouth. Ichigo's eyes shot open as he felt Shuuhei's tongue probe the inside of his mouth. He tried to pull away but was stopped as both of Shuuhei's hands held his face in place.

Part of him told him that this was right. It was that part of him that made him stick his tongue out, as if to receive Shuuhei. He licked at the other tongue gingerly, lightly, almost afraid, yet amazed and drawn in at the same time. Light flicks of his tongue, gently brushing against the inside of Shuuhei's mouth, he found this kiss to be far more erotic than he had imagined it to be…and so did 'Little Ichigo'…and the old lady staring at them. Regaining his senses, Ichigo clamped his mouth shut as he bit down hard on Shuuhei's tongue.  
"OUCH!" yelled Shuuhei as he pulled his mouth away.  
"Stop using your damn tongue! You should've told me beforehand that she wanted us to kiss…so I could've prepared myself!"  
"Shut up…" growled Shuuhei as rolled his tongue around in his mouth. "You happy now, granny?" asked Shuuhei, now in a bad mood. The two turned to look at the elderly woman, but found her laying flat on her back, seemingly unconscious. Shuuhei bit back a small chuckle as he stepped over her body, but stopped when he felt a hand tugging at his jeans. He looked down and saw that old lady was trying to hand him the books in her jacket.  
"Take these…my gratitude…" she whispered as she smiled and passed out. Shuuhei smiled as he took the two books from her hand.

"Hey Shuuhei, what'd she give you?"  
"Eh, some books."  
"Lemme have one."  
"Sure," said Shuuhei, as he handed Ichigo the book entitled Only the Ring Finger Knows. Attached to the book was a small plastic bag, holding two simple silver rings. Ichigo took one of the rings out and placed it on his right ring finger. He grinned sheepishly. The ring was a perfect fit.  
"I wanna see the other book too."  
"This one's mine," said Shuuhei protectively as he ran ahead, concealing the forbidden manga under his shirt. He had to get home as soon as possible to read the forbidden contents of the book.  
"Damn bastard!" yelled Ichigo as he ran to catch up.

Even though he was running through the streets while carrying two bodies, even though he had to spend a week in Soul Society, even though he could never kiss Shuuhei like he wanted to…Ichigo felt as if the world couldn't get anymore perfect than that day. Smiling like a maniac, he laughed aloud as he watched Shuuhei get hit by an oncoming biker.

"How would you feel if Ichigo-kun were to become a captain of Soul Society?"  
"No way in hell!" yelled an inebriated Isshin. He slammed his bottle of sake down to the table and swayed gently, trying to maintain his balance. "He'll…he'll never be a captain if I can help it…it's too damn saddening!" roared Isshin, suddenly feeling depressed. He drooped his head down to the table. "It's…it's too damn sad…Masaki…" groaned Isshin with a sudden sense of spite.  
"Ah, cheer up Isshin. I was only asking."  
"Yeah well, I swear if anyone goes and tries to make Ichigo a captain, I'll…I'll cut him down! You hear that Kisuke?"  
"My oh my…that's mighty troubling," sighed Urahara as he swirled the contents of his bottle of sake. 'Troubling for Hisagi-kun, that is…I wonder if he's carrying out his half of the plan correctly…' thought Urahara to himself.  
"Oye! Kisuke! Does this have anything to do with that Shuuhei kid? He's a shinigami…a pretty good one from what I can tell…" grumbled Isshin as the alcohol's intoxicating effect started to take its toll. "Is he trying to recruit my Ichigo? Huh? Is he?"  
"Ah, Hisagi-kun? No, no, of course not! It has nothing to do with him at all!" laughed Urahara nervously as he hid his face behind a fan.

Shuuhei sneezed 3 times in a row.  
"Oh, Hisagi-fukutaichou is sick?" asked the bumbling clerk standing before him.  
"Nah…it's nothing Hanatarou." Shuuhei reached into his pockets and pulled out some money. "How much for the sake?"  
"Ah, 75 off for you Hisagi-sempai. By the way, would you be interested in trying one of our promotional products for free?"  
"Hm? What is it?" asked Shuuhei curiously as he put down bills and coins.  
"Condoms…it's a new brand. Thin, durable, and strawberry flavored. I imagine it'd be perfect for you!" cried Hanatarou enthusiastically as he stretched a condom and pulled it over his hair to demonstrate its elasticity.  
"That…that _is_ durable…" said Shuuhei as he stared in disbelief. "Well…" Shuuhei looked around nervously. Ichigo was standing outside, conversing with his now conscious sisters. Although he wasn't planning on doing anything to Ichigo, he just wanted to be safe…just in case the drunk Ichigo wanted to go further than a little kissing…  
"I'll take as many as you can give me…" said Shuuhei in the lowest voice possible. Hanatarou smiled and procured 6 little pouches.  
"Thank you for your patronage!" said Hanatarou as he put all of Shuuhei's purchases in a bag. Bowing slightly, he waved good bye to Shuuhei and watched the group of 4 disappear into the distance.  
"The manager will be pleased when he hears how much I sold today!" said Hanatarou happily as he tried to pull the piece of rubber off his head…only to find that it was stuck fast.

"…This…this will look bad on my performance review…"

TBC

Yes, Only the Ring Finger Knows is a real shounen-ai book and manga as well. I read it last week and I have to say, despite how cliché it was at times, I found the whole storyline enjoyable nonetheless. I'd be glad to point out a good place to download the torrent of it online (that is, if people are interested). Oh, and if you're wondering what Shuuhei was hiding from Ichigo, I'd suggest looking up anything with hardcore yaoi...

And yes, it's probably impossible for a condom to be that elastic. But don't forget the message here: I endorse safe sex! Remember, only _you_ can prevent forest fires…I mean unwanted children…

Anyhow, R&R as always, cause reviews make me squeal till I run out of air...but not nosebleed...that's just wrong.


	8. Mine and Mine Alone

Well…this chapter is definitely going to be living up to its rating…(there's lemon). For your viewing pleasure, the explicit content has been clearly marked off (by dashes). By the way, check out my profile for a link to the torrent for Only the Ring Finger Knows.

CH8: Mine and Mine Alone

"Hisagi Shuuhei reporting."  
"Go ahead."  
"I have been able to persuade Kurosaki Ichigo to come to Soul Society and serve as interim Captain."  
"Time length?"  
"…One week."  
"One week?" Silent snicker. "That'll do us a lot of good."  
"I suspect that there may be ways to persuade him to stay longer…or even become a full pledged captain."  
"I see…when would you like clearance by?" Loud rustle in the back.  
"Nanao-chaaan…stop giving Hisagi-kun such a hard time!"  
"Kyouraku-taichou! Don't interfere! This is a delicate matter that must be handled with utmost precision."  
"Pshh…oye Hisagi! Can you hear me?"  
"Yeah?"  
"You can bring Ichigo over anytime you're ready!"  
"Taichou! Don't be so reckless!"  
"Hush, Nanao-chan."  
"Don't you _dare_ tell me to hush!" Camera shakes violently. Loud shouting echoes through the communicator. Screen goes white, then gray, then blank. The silent buzz of static goes through the air. Shuuhei sighs.

Shuuhei sat underneath the awning of the backyard porch, staring off into the distant space. There was nothing to do for the rest of the day, especially since there had been no hollow sightings lately. He sighed as he slowly realized that he actually had an afternoon off. An afternoon where he had absolutely _no _work to be done…in a way, it frightened him. Not that he didn't like an occasional break, but the calmness of the day reminded him of the calm before a storm. Then again, maybe he was just being paranoid. After all, he had _just_ gotten through 5 consecutive months of non-stop work/fighting, so in a manner, this peaceful afternoon seemed completely foreign to him. He sighed once more as he lied down on his back to look up at the clear sky, and watched the clouds mill around aimlessly and birds flutter gracefully and felt a sense of nostalgia overwhelm him. _This_ was the world that Soul Society strived to create and maintain: a world of utter peace. And for the most part, they had achieved this peace. So why did he feel like something was amiss?

Sighing, he rolled over onto his side and curled up slightly.  
"Will you stop with the damn sighing? You're ruining the mood." Shuuhei chuckled and lifted his head slightly to see what Ichigo was doing. As he suspected, Ichigo was sitting in the doorway with book in hand.  
"You're still reading that?" asked Shuuhei jokingly.  
"It's…it's good. I like to take my time when I'm reading good stuff," muttered Ichigo as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Wait…glasses?  
"Heh…didn't know you wore glasses." Shuuhei got onto his knees and crawled over to where Ichigo was sitting.  
"It's only for reading," answered Ichigo tersely as he flipped a page. Shuuhei plucked the glasses off Ichigo's face and put them on.  
"Shit…you're friggin' blind!" proclaimed Shuuhei as he looked at Ichigo. The dosage on the lenses were so heavy that Shuuhei see every single detail of Ichigo's body, from the small trickle of sweat on the side of his face, to the small smudge of chocolate on the corner of his mouth, to the light stains on Ichigo's shirt, to the barely noticeable obtrusion in Ichigo's pants…  
"Gimme that," commanded Ichigo gruffly. He reached for the glasses but missed by a whole inch as Shuuhei ducked his head.  
"Ain't done with it yet."  
"Yeah, well, I ain't done reading this either," growled an annoyed Ichigo. He made another swipe for the glasses but missed again, and then made another swipe and missed yet again. "Bastard…" grumbled Ichigo. Finally, he grabbed Shuuhei by the hair and made one last attempt to grab the glasses…only to have the said glasses slide off Shuuhei's nose and come to a shattering crash upon the ground. Ichigo's face turned a dark red as his grip on Shuuhei's hair grew stronger. "And I was just about to get to the good part too…" growled Ichigo in a dangerously low voice.  
"Ah well…you can still use the glasses right?" asked Shuuhei nervously. He picked up the glasses to hand them to Ichigo, but found that the lenses were severely cracked.  
"I can't use this…" growled Ichigo as he squeezed Shuuhei's head with all the might in his hand.  
"I…uh…well…you can…uh…" stuttered Shuuhei uneasily. He searched frantically through his mind for a way to make it up to Ichigo, and sighed in relief when he finally found a way. "I'll read it to you!" declared Shuuhei. Ichigo's grip on Shuuhei's head vanished as the boy stared at him questioningly. He sat back for a moment, as if to think it over, and finally agreed.  
"You better do the special effects too."  
"I…I guess I can do that…" grumbled Shuuhei as he picked up the book in disdain.

"And…and then…"  
"And then what?"  
"And then…they kissed. The end," said Shuuhei as he ended the story abruptly.  
"Liar. We're only half way through the book."  
"For God's sake Ichigo, these kinda books always end the same. The guys kiss and make up. End of story!"  
"Yeah well, just shut up and continue reading!" barked Ichigo. "Or else…I'll make you read _this_ aloud…" said Ichigo as he held up another book. The book in question was the _gift_ Shuuhei had received from the elderly lady earlier that day. "I imagine it'd be very awkward to read _this_ aloud…" mumbled Ichigo as he turned the book around in his hand. "Even the summary on the back is pretty awkward to read…'sex, sex, sex, love, sex, sex, boyfriend cheats, sex, sex'. The rest of the summary consists of the same exact words repeated over and over except in a different order…didn't think you were the type to read these kinds of books, Shuuhei," taunted Ichigo as he tossed the book aside.  
"Fine, fine…" grumbled Shuuhei as he resumed his reading.

"Hey Ichigo?"  
"You're not done reading yet."  
"Well I just wanted to ask you a quick question."  
"One question, then back to the book."  
"Why do you like this book?" Ichigo flinched. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but shut it quickly. Shuuhei smirked. He had hit a soft spot. The right thing to do was to push the question further. "I mean, it's about two boys falling in love, both of which are in denial of the fact. I don't see how this could interest you at all…especially the part about _two boys_." Ichigo flinched again.  
"I…I got tired of reading about guy/gal relationships…" lied Ichigo lamely. Shuuhei smirked again. The denial in his voice was so blatantly obvious, that it practically spelled 'homo' all over his face. This was a perfect case of situational irony.

"And then they kissed. The end."  
"Liar!"  
"I'm serious…see?" said Shuuhei as he pointed to the last line of the book. Ichigo sweatdropped. It really _was_ the last line of the book.  
"Well…that was a nice story…"  
"It was pretty damn corny."  
"Shut up! The whole story was damn believable…I mean, I can practically sympathize with their situation…"  
"Can you now..."  
"Yeah, I mean, the whole denial aspect is understandable…cause I mean, I would be in denial too…if I were gay…" stuttered Ichigo as he tried to catch himself from revealing too much.  
"I see," sighed Shuuhei as he lied down and placed his head in Ichigo's lap.  
"G―Get off…" growled Ichigo.  
"Hm? Why? You seem to be quite sure about your sexuality, so something like this shouldn't be a problem." Ichigo angrily muttered something under his breath and finally gave in. Shuuhei smirked as he closed his eyes to take a nap.

"Ichigo! Shuuhei!"  
"Shh Karin…they're sleeping." True enough, the two boys were asleep in the doorway to the backyard, serenity and peacefulness gracing their faces. "They look so adorable…" sighed Yuzu. Karin nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess we can just leave them a note…don't wanna wake them up from their nap."

Shuuhei was the first one to awaken. Slowly prying his eyes open, he woke to an unsuspected sight: Ichigo's mouth. Bracing himself for the kiss, he shut his eyes quickly and waited…and waited…and waited some more. He opened his eyes again and quickly realized what was wrong: Ichigo's head had drooped forward in his sleep. Sighing, he gave Ichigo an ever so light peck upon the lips, and rolled out from Ichigo's lap. Careful not to wake the still sleeping boy, he stepped over Ichigo and walked into the kitchen to see what was cooking. Instead, he found a note:

"Yo Ichigo, Shuuhei. You two lazy bums fell asleep, so we didn't want to wake you or anything. Yuzu, me, and dad went to a party of one of dad's friends. We'll be back late so don't wait for us. We left you some money on the table, so why don't you go buy some burgers? --Karin"

Sighing (he was sighing an awful lot lately), he went over and shook Ichigo awake.  
"Yo Ichigo, wake up." Ichigo immediately jerked upright.  
"W―What?"  
"Your family left us behind…_again_. Let's go get something to eat." Ichigo nodded his head groggily as he stood up…then shook his head in refusal after registering what Shuuhei had just said. Going out _together_ in _public_ after what happened at the bookstore earlier that day was the last thing he wanted to do.  
"Ah…how bout I just go out and buy the stuff and cook it at home?"  
"It'd be easier if we just―"  
"Good, that settles it. I'll be back quick," said Ichigo as he intentionally cut off Shuuhei. "Want to get anything to drink?"  
"Uhm…naw, we got stuff at home to drink…" Shuuhei turned away from Ichigo as he put on an evil grin.  
"Ok then…" muttered Ichigo in a low voice. It was Ichigo's turn to grin. Shuuhei was so damn easy to read. Chuckling to himself as he left the house, he started to concoct a little scheme for the night ahead. First stop: Urahara Shoten.

After dinner, the two boys found themselves sitting in the grass like the night before. And just like the night before, Shuuhei procured a chilled bottle of sake for the two to share.  
"Let me get some cups," said Ichigo as he went back into the house. Shuuhei cocked his right eyebrow in suspicion, but brushed it aside.  
"You don't seem too uneasy about drinking anymore…that was a sudden change of heart…" chuckled Shuuhei as Ichigo sat himself down next to Shuuhei.  
"Yeah well…nothing wrong with a light drink right?" Ichigo put on a big grin as he extended his cup towards Shuuhei.  
"Damn right!" laughed Shuuhei. Instead of pouring some sake into the cup, he pushed the bottle into Ichigo's mouth. "Bottoms up, yeah?" asked Shuuhei as he watched Ichigo chug a quarter of the bottle in one try. When the bottle was finally pulled from his mouth, Ichigo let out a loud sigh.  
"Ahhhhh…good stuff, good stuff…" said Ichigo as he rubbed his stomach. Shuuhei laughed lightly as he took a swig of sake.

The two took turns draining the bottle of its contents, all the while sharing good laughs over random matters.

"And then…and then Kira went and did Isane-fukutaichou! HAHA! Who'd wanna do _her_?" Shuuhei let out a howl of laughter, followed closely by Ichigo's own laughter. "But you know what the worst part was?"  
"What?"  
"Kira thought he was doing _Rangiku_! So when he said _her_ name instead of Isane's, Isane got so pissed that she used a binding spell on his dick. So ever since then, he's been limp cause he doesn't know how to undo it!" Shuuhei let out another howl of laughter while Ichigo just smiled as he drained the last of the sake. He threw the bottle to the side as he swayed back and forth lightly. "Yo Ichigo, you drunk yet?" asked Shuuhei jokingly. Ichigo nodded, lopsidedly.  
"Y'know Shuuhei…" said Ichigo, as his words slurred together. "Y'know…this morning, you looked so damn sexy…but now…now you look even _sexxxier_…and I dunno why…"  
"Really now…" said Shuuhei as he turned to face the other boy completely.  
"Yup. Y'do…and, and I like you…and when I say that, I mean I _really_ like, like you…" said Ichigo as he fell forward. Shuuhei caught the boy by the shoulders and tried to prop him upright. "…And you know why I like you?" asked Ichigo as he looked up to meet Shuuhei's eyes.  
"Hm…why's that?" asked Shuuhei in an amused tone.  
"Because you kiss so _damn _well…" Ichigo grinned goofily as he held his head up to kiss Shuuhei. Right as their lips were about to make contact, Shuuhei pushed Ichigo away.  
"W―What? You don't wanna kissss?" asked Ichigo, still slurring his words.  
"Naw…it's not that. I just like to be in control, that's all…" Without warning, Shuuhei pushed Ichigo to the ground, with one arm around Ichigo's back to brace the fall, as he straddled the younger boy. "_This_ is how I wanna kiss…" sighed Shuuhei as he leaned forward and kissed Ichigo roughly on the lips.

The kiss was completely different from the kisses they had shared that morning. It still had the same lip to lip contact, the same mouth movements, and even the tongue wrestling…but what was different was the amount of _desire_ put into the kiss. There was an unspoken desire, a powerful longing, almost lustful urges, pushing the two together in such a passionate embrace. Mouth moving over mouth, nose brushing against nose, hands roaming over skin and flesh; the two were completely entranced in one another. Each flicker of the tongue was met by an equally responsive, equally _craving _tongue flicker, and each time one mouth pressed its lips together into a puckered kiss, the other mouth would open wide and invite the invading lips with a silent moan, further engrossing them in one another. It was only natural that a loud cry of dissatisfaction would escape from Ichigo's lips when Shuuhei finally pulled away.  
"You liked that?" asked Shuuhei as he panted heavily. A massive erection was running through his pants, and he was certain that Ichigo could feel it riding on his stomach.  
"Mhm…" nodded a dazed Ichigo. Shuuhei sat straddled to Ichigo for several minutes, just staring at the boy underneath him. Finally, Shuuhei broke the silence.  
"Didn't know you wanted a kiss bad enough to act drunk for it…" chuckled Shuuhei as he got off Ichigo's stomach.  
"W―What? What are you talking bout?"  
"This." Shuuhei held up a crimson colored pill in his hand. "Looks like one of Urahara's pills. Probably an anti-alcohol pill." Ichigo's face turned a bright red, even brighter than the pill itself. His hands shot for his pockets and rummaged around. "Don't bother looking there. Where do you think I got the pill from anyways?" sighed Shuuhei. "I pick-pocketed it from you when I first forced the bottle into your mouth…" Ichigo thought back to half an hour earlier and vaguely remembered a light rubbing sensation in his pockets.  
"But…but how did you know to look there?"  
"Eh…good guess. Besides, you were acting weird, so I was kinda suspicious," said Shuuhei as he recalled Ichigo's eagerness to drink. Ichigo sat upright now, head bowed in embarrassment, unable to even look at Shuuhei or talk anymore. Smiling, Shuuhei crawled behind Ichigo and hugged him from behind. "So you're not gonna deny it anymore, eh?" asked Shuuhei as he slid his chin onto Ichigo's left shoulder. Ichigo faced the other way. "Well I'm not gonna deny it either…" said Shuuhei as he lowered his voice to slight whisper. "…I like you too."

There was a slight pause and silence, during which Shuuhei continued to grope Ichigo from behind, one hand sliding up Ichigo's shirt, and the other hand resting calmly on Ichigo's obvious bulge. He laid light kisses along Ichigo's neck, waiting, hoping, expecting some kind of reaction from Ichigo…but there was none. Shuuhei finally gave up and released Ichigo from his embrace as he started to stand up…only to be pounced on by Ichigo, catching him in yet another kiss. Shuuhei was only too happy to oblige, kissing him back with the same lustful desire as before. But once again, it was Shuuhei who cut the kiss short.  
"We should…we should take this upstairs." Ichigo nodded. Swiftly, Shuuhei picked up and cradled Ichigo in his arms.  
"Y'know I'm not drunk…I can walk on my own." Shuuhei just smiled and continued to carry Ichigo up the stairs.

---

In the darkness of their room, the two boys continued to the bed where they immediately resumed their passionate embrace. As if they hadn't even paused, the two restarted in the same exact positions, with Ichigo on top of Shuuhei this time. Pinning him down like predator and prey, Ichigo landed rough kisses on Shuuhei's lips, only to have the other eagerly respond just as roughly. He grabbed Ichigo's body and pulled it against his, and groaned at the sensation of their groins rubbing against one another. Ichigo let out a guttural moan as well, leaving his mouth wide open to Shuuhei's tongue. Running his tongue through every corner of Ichigo's mouth, he finally let it rest on top of Ichigo's own tongue, tasting and savoring Ichigo. Smirking, Ichigo pushed his mouth down on Shuuhei, his tongue now tasting all of Shuuhei's mouth. Meanwhile, Shuuhei let his hand slide down to the overexcited obtrusion in Ichigo's pants, and started stripping Ichigo's pants off.

"W―Wait a sec…" moaned Ichigo as he sat up straight. "Are we…gonna…you know…" Shuuhei eyed him questioningly. Ichigo gulped nervously and started to pull off his shirt and the rest of his boxers and pants and sat bare naked in front of Shuuhei. Shuuhei could only smirk as he looked over every inch of Ichigo, taking in the beauty of the sight before him. But when Shuuhei looked back at Ichigo's eyes, the eyes that were bright with lust only moments ago, he saw hesitation, reluctance…and almost fear. The eyes were dimming, and Shuuhei could see a slight shutter course through Ichigo's body. Shuuhei understood.  
"Naw…we don't have to go all the way if you don't want to," sighed Shuuhei as he looked over Ichigo's body longingly. "But…we still have to do something about this…" said Shuuhei as he leaned forward and took Ichigo's erection in his hand. Ichigo gasped loudly and let out a harsh moan as Shuuhei started to pull the length of Ichigo's erection.  
"Shuu…Shuuhei…" groaned Ichigo as he bent over in pleasure, burying his face in the space between Shuuhei's neck and shoulder. "It feels…feels good…" gasped Ichigo as Shuuhei jerked the length roughly.  
"Damn right it does…" groaned Shuuhei as he looked at Ichigo's face. Ichigo returned the look with the lust back in his eyes, causing Shuuhei to smirk and jerk even harder. Ichigo moaned loudly in response.

Eyes clenched tight, Ichigo let his hands fumble around until they found Shuuhei's pants. Without hesitation, he unzipped the pants and started to tug them off. Once the pants were disposed of, his hands ran up Shuuhei's shirt, and pulled them off roughly, leaving Shuuhei just as exposed as he was.

"My…my turn…" said Ichigo inbetween sharp breaths. He lowered his hand onto Shuuhei's length and started to pump the erection to a distinct rhythm, separate from Shuuhei's pace, leading to a symphony of groans of pleasure, one following the other, sometimes overlapping, but always gaining in volume with each jerk of the hand. The erotic moans were eventually joined by the sound of precum lubricating their hardening members, driving Ichigo ever closer to the edge. But Shuuhei was insistent that Ichigo would last longer than this, and gripped Ichigo's erection firmly.  
"You can't cum…not yet…not like this…" whispered Shuuhei into Ichigo's ear. Ichigo whimpered slightly, and then growled in protest. He wanted release, and he wanted it now. "Just wait…" whispered Shuuhei as he pushed Ichigo onto his back.

Shuuhei went down and took Ichigo's length into his mouth, still firmly grasping the base of Ichigo's erection to prevent him from releasing too soon. Sucking gently, he pulled the sides of the engorged muscle up with a dragging motion of his lips, causing Ichigo to groan loudly in pleasure and satisfaction.  
"God Shuuhei…it's―" but Ichigo was cut off by a throaty moan that escaped from his mouth, as Shuuhei bit down lightly and suckled Ichigo's erection. Licking all around the length and bobbing his head slightly, Shuuhei managed to clean all of the precum off of Ichigo's erection. Taking his mouth off Ichigo's member, he looked up at the boy, only to find that the boy had his eyes shut tight.  
"Open your eyes Ichigo, y'know you wanna watch me do this…" chuckled Shuuhei as he lowered his mouth back onto Ichigo's length. After letting out a sharp gasp, Ichigo pried his eyes open and looked down at Shuuhei, only to find the other man staring straight back at him, making the experience all that more erotic. They stared at each other through sex-crazed eyes, but Ichigo was forced to break eye-contact as he threw his head back and let out a long moan. Shuuhei smiled and let Ichigo's entire length slide all the way to the back of his throat, drawing out an even longer moan.

"It's my turn…right?" asked Ichigo as he pulled Shuuhei's head up. Shuuhei merely smirked.  
"Bend over Ichigo."  
"N―Now wait a sec! You said we weren't gonna―"  
"Just bend over," commanded Shuuhei gruffly. Ichigo gulped nervously as he obeyed Shuuhei. Much to his relief, Shuuhei got underneath Ichigo instead of behind him, so that Ichigo's erection was directly overhead Shuuhei's mouth and Ichigo's mouth was directly overhead Shuuhei's erection. "You wanted to know what '69' was? Well…this is it." Shuuhei lifted his head slightly as his hands slid onto Ichigo's ass and pulled him down, pushing his length down into Shuuhei's mouth. Ichigo groaned aloud, and continued to groan even louder as Shuuhei began to attack his erection with a rekindled lust. Trying to free himself from the pre-orgasmic haze, Ichigo focused in on Shuuhei's erection, standing erect and covered in a glistening sheet of precum. On a sudden whim, he decided that the erection looked erotically delicious, and lowered his mouth down, taking in as much of the length as possible. Surprised at the enjoyable taste, Ichigo swallowed and began to suck lightly. In the back of his mind, he could hear Shuuhei groan aloud, making him want to suck even harder. Bobbing his head as Shuuhei did, Ichigo began to make slurping noises, enticing loud groans from Shuuhei. In response, Shuuhei sucked on Ichigo's length just as readily, taking care to bite tenderly every so often, and licking the nub at the head of Ichigo's erection with extra force, sending shivers throughout Ichigo's body. Brushing his teeth lightly against the nub, and nibbling ever so softly, he could hear the sensual moans that it elicited. And he could _feel_ the results too, for every time he licked that spot, Ichigo would lick that precise spot as well, sending them through a cycle of pleasure. When one sucked, the other would suck even harder; when one bobbed his head, the other would bob his head even further; and when one swallowed the salty drops of precum, the other would slurp just as hungrily at the milky pearls. It was a continuous rotation of pleasure, one that would make both lovers moan and groan in sync. And it would've continued unbroken, had Shuuhei not thought of playing with Ichigo's dangling sack. Taking the erection out of his mouth, he engulfed the entire sack in his mouth and slurped the two balls, all the while pumping Ichigo's length furiously.  
"Shit, Shuuhei…I'm gonna…I'm gonna―" stuttered Ichigo. But he didn't have a chance to finish. Shuuhei could recognize the oncoming intensity and prepared for it, placing his mouth over the tip of Ichigo's erection while still pumping the length with his hand. Yelling aloud as an orgasm seized each and every muscle in his body, Ichigo thrusted his hips forward and pushed his entire length into Shuuhei's mouth. Sucking hard, Shuuhei created a vacuum with his mouth that milked Ichigo of every single shot, every single burst, every single blast of cum that escaped from his length. Not satisfied with the initial flood of cum, Shuuhei continued to slurp and lick, all the while still jerking Ichigo's length. Finally, he was able to elicit yet another orgasm from Ichigo, sending the boy into a fit of heavy spasms and strong convulsions, bucking his hips and thrusting forth uncontrollably. He let out one last cry as he spewed the last of his cum, and collapsed on the bed next to Shuuhei.

Panting and gasping after the major high he had achieved from his blissful release, Ichigo was about ready to fall asleep from exhaustion. But Shuuhei's still-standing erection demanded attention, and Ichigo was more than willing to appease it. He slowly got up and placed his mouth back on Shuuhei's length.  
"I'm…I'm close," groaned Shuuhei aloud as he pushed Ichigo's head down onto his erection, forcing it into Ichigo's willing mouth. Ichigo slurped the sensitive member while massaging Shuuhei's swollen sack with his hand, drawing out tiny whimpers of pleasure. Eventually, Shuuhei began to shutter and moan loudly, clear indication that release was near.  
"I―Ichigo!" cried Shuuhei as he reached glorious bliss. Ichigo wanted to swallow the oncoming surges, but hesitated at the last moment, letting Shuuhei squirt and spray his cum all over his face. But not just one squirt, but six squirts in a row, completely covering Ichigo's face in the white liquid. Somewhat surprised by the extent of Shuuhei's orgasm, Ichigo licked Shuuhei's length to stop a stray dribble of cum, only to elicit yet another squirt of cum. Chuckling, he pumped Shuuhei's length several more times to see if there was anything left, making Shuuhei buck his hips violently into Ichigo's hand. Sure enough, there was still more cum, which Ichigo voluntarily let spray into his face. Ichigo finally released his grip on Shuuhei's length, letting Shuuhei's body fall to the bed in a dull thud.  
"I think that's all…" groaned a fatigued Shuuhei. His entire body was still shivering, an after-effect of such an intense orgasm.  
"But I think there's still some left…" whispered Ichigo as he licked the cum from the corners of his lips. He placed his mouth firmly on the still hard erection and sucked ruthlessly, bobbing his head up and down even faster than before, and was able to get one more immense spurt of cum, followed by a long, loud moan from the wasted Shuuhei. "Nine times…heh, that's kinda funny…" chuckled Ichigo. Shuuhei smiled as well as he pulled Ichigo towards him. He leaned forward and licked some his own essence off of Ichigo's face…and spat it out immediately.  
"That's nasty…" said a disappointed Shuuhei.  
"I…I like it…" reassured Ichigo. Shuuhei smiled and used a pillow to wipe off the rest of the cum on Ichigo's face.

---

Spent and tired, the two lied in bed, with Shuuhei hugging Ichigo from behind.  
"You're really clingy…"  
"Spooning is good though…" muttered Shuuhei as he nuzzled his face into the back Ichigo's neck. He tightened his arms around Ichigo's waist and brought their two bodies together, fitting them jointly like a two-piece puzzle. Sighing silent nothings into the night, Shuuhei inhaled Ichigo's smell and drifted off into sweet slumber.

Ichigo was still awake. He couldn't sleep with Shuuhei like this; it just didn't feel right…_yet_. Turning ever so slightly, he checked to see if Shuuhei was asleep, and found the said boy lying sound asleep. Relieved, he decided that _the_ moment was now or ever. And he definitely wasn't going to act this time..  
"Shuuhei…" he whispered quietly. No response. Good. It was easier to have Shuuhei just listen…even if it meant for Shuuhei to be unconscious. Gathering his courage, he continued. "Shuuhei…I l…l…l―" stammered Ichigo. He bit down on his tongue in anger. How could he mess up? It was so simple; just a few words for God's sake! But that was the problem…he wanted to say so _many_ words, and condensing it into those three words was near impossible. Plus…he didn't know which 'L' word to use. He couldn't exactly say 'love' because frankly, there was still so much about Shuuhei that he had yet to learn of. But he couldn't say 'like' either because it was obvious that he felt much more…especially after what they had just done. Torn between saying too much and saying too little, Ichigo cursed under his breath and decided that he'd try again tomorrow. He then gasped as Shuuhei's arms started constrict around his waist.  
"You don't have to say anything Ichigo…" he whispered as he buried his face deeper into Ichigo's hair.  
"But…I _want_ to say something…"  
"Then I'll say it for you…" Shuuhei lifted his head and placed his mouth right next to Ichigo's ear, breathing ever so softly. "I love you."

Perhaps it was because he had never known true love before. Orphaned at such a young age, he had never been able to cherish the love his parents had to offer, nor was he ever able to observe true love personally. Even as a certified shinigami, he was deprived of true love as well, never having been able to meet someone who could see past the tattoo on his face. But now, lying in bed with Ichigo, he pondered over what love really meant. Sure, he knew the textbook definition (and even then, it was still vague). But just like any mission, definitions can only take you so far. Perhaps it wasn't love, he thought. Perhaps it was just a lustful splurge. But after a moment's thought, Shuuhei vigorously rejected the idea. Lust was one thing, but there was definitely something more here. He remembered seeing the trust in Ichigo's eyes, and he understood completely. But what confused him was what he saw beyond the trust

Perhaps it _was_ love, thought Shuuhei. Perhaps the longing he had seen in Ichigo's eyes, perhaps it was more than lust. The longing he had felt in himself earlier was probably more than lust too. Maybe it was a longing to love…and to be loved. Shuuhei finally decided that if this was what it meant to love, then it was the best and the most fulfilling feeling he had ever felt. But a part of him wondered if Ichigo really did love him back. He wondered if Ichigo was still in denial or if he was still acting. But he decided that so long as he could love Ichigo, it was more than enough. Although it would be a one-sided love, just being in love satisfied a part of him. Smiling, he hugged Ichigo even closer now, threatening to suffocate him. Of course, he wouldn't mind if Ichigo loved him back…in fact, he _wanted _Ichigo to love him back. He wanted Ichigo's love…and he wanted it for himself. He wanted it to be his and his only, something he could call his own.  
"I love you Ichigo…" he whispered silently. He repeated the words over and over, each time wrenching his arms tighter and tighter, as if by hugging harder made Ichigo his own possession. He couldn't think of any other way to explain his love because it was still so foreign to him. He couldn't think of any other way to say that he wanted Ichigo to be his alone. "I love you…" he whispered once more.  
"I know…" answered Ichigo lamely. He didn't say anything more. Didn't say anything about doubt, or lust, or love. But Shuuhei didn't care. Like he said, even if it was a one-sided love, just _feeling_ it was enough to satiate his appetite. Instead, he thought forward to the upcoming week and smiled as he suddenly realized how Ichigo was already his and his alone.

"I love you…_my _captain." Ichigo really _was_ his, after all.

TBC

Well there you go. The long awaited lemony-scented scene. Somewhat predictable, yet somewhat not…you know what I mean?

Anyways…the question that arises from this is: is Ichigo really going to be the uke/bottom? I wonder…what do you guys think?

I seem to have this really bad habit of making each successive chapter longer than the last…oh well.

And one last note: I'll be putting this fic on a short hiatus so that I can catch up on my other fic (In Death) and start up on a new fic (The Things Unforeseen). I know you guys won't mind…right? Anyways, expect me to resume this fic in September (possibly sooner). So in the meantime, why don't you go drop me a review? It'd be nice if I could get to…oh I donno, 50-60 reviews by the time I get back. But then again, that might be pushing it…

R&R as always my faithful reviewers! I want to make you _all _my _own _too…


	9. Way Leads onto Way

Sorry for the _month long_ delay in updating…but school just started and well…I'm swamped. But, you can tell I'm pretty devoted to my story…right? (I chose to work on this chapter instead of studying for a physics test…which I got 22/40 on…) Anyways, there's lemon in this chapter. (Note that the lemon is set off from the rest of the chapter as per my new practice). Enjoy.

CH9: Way Leads onto Way

Ichigo did _not_ want to get up that morning. In fact, he _refused_ to get up that morning. Why? Two reasons: 1) it was pretty damn warm lying in Shuuhei's arms, considering that they were both stark nude and the room was chilly and 2) he was _hard_. Yes, even after the most amazing, most satisfying, most intense experience that completely wasted him last night, he still had the resilience to yearn for _more_ of that very experience. Of course, he didn't mind the idea of reliving the whole thing through once more, but hell, he didn't want to seem to like a man-whore now did he? So, he settled with burying his backside further into Shuuhei's embrace from behind, tiding himself over with the knowledge that he would have to settle with spooning for the time being.

But that was until he chanced a stray glance at the alarm clock. 6 fucking 59 AM. Holy fucking shit.  
"Shuuhei!" hissed Ichigo in a frantic and panicked voice as he turned around to shake the other man awake. But Shuuhei, in his slumbering stupor, refused to release his grip on Ichigo, holding him fast in spot.  
"Shuuhei, get the _fuck_ up!" cursed Ichigo as he struggled. Shuuhei refused to budge. "I swear Shuuhei, if you don't fucking get up now, my old man is gonna jump in here and―" swore Ichigo in rapid-fire succession. Before he could even finish though, Shuuhei had sat upright abruptly, and threw Ichigo over the side of the bed.  
"_Stay down_" commanded Shuuhei in a near whisper. He rummaged around in the bed sheets until he found Ichigo's clothes and threw them over the side as well. "Dress up quick before―" continued Shuuhei, but was interrupted by a slamming of the door. Shuuhei threw all the bed sheets over his bare-naked body while Ichigo rolled underneath the bed. The two braced themselves for the hell that was about to break loose.

"MY LOVELY SONS! Otou-san is here to welcome you to the wonderful world that is…today!" cried Isshin as he made his regular pirouette and prance before barging into the room. Shuuhei covered himself completely now and lay deathly still, hoping that Isshin would fail to see him…and thankfully, he _did _fail to see him.  
"Hm…those two must've left early…" muttered Isshin under his breath as he rubbed his beard thoughtfully. He then crinkled his face in disgust. "It smells like _shit_ in here…" shouted Isshin. Ichigo winced from underneath the bed. He knew exactly why it smelled…and what it smelled of as well. The entire room was still plagued with the smell of sweat and sex from the night before, and Ichigo could only hope that they hadn't left behind any visible evidence…thankfully, Isshin wasn't the type to inspect the finer details of things, so even if there were a few…spots here and there, they'd pass by unnoticed. Looking out from underneath the bed, Ichigo suddenly realized that Isshin's feet weren't visible anymore. But hearing the bed creak loudly revealed that Isshin was atop of the bed…dangerously close to the naked Shuuhei.  
"I'll just open this here window to air out the room…" sighed Isshin aloud as he walked across the bed. From underneath, Ichigo could see the bulge in the bed that belonged to Shuuhei's hiding figure, as well as the bulge in the bed from Isshin's feet. Ichigo watched with terror as the bulges started to move slowly towards Shuuhei's figure until they finally disappeared altogether.  
"This is a weird pillow…" thought Isshin aloud as he slammed the window open. Ichigo could hear Shuuhei take a sharp breath. Isshin was standing on top of Shuuhei's stomach. "That's better…nice, fresh air!" shouted Isshin. He let out a loud sigh as he proceeded to stretch his arms and legs out…on top of Shuuhei's stomach. Ichigo could hear several more sharp breaths along with very faint and subtle curses.  
"Wake up Yuzu! Karin!" shouted Isshin loudly, as he proceeded to jump up and down…on Shuuhei's stomach. Ichigo could hear louder groans of pain now.  
"It's such a beautiful day…makes me kinda wanna dance…"  
"OH, HELL NO!" shouted Shuuhei at the top of his lungs as he pushed Isshin off.  
"Oh ho ho! A surprise attack from _below_! How very crafty of you my dear s―" Isshin was thrown out the window before he could finish.

Ichigo and Shuuhei rushed through breakfast as quickly as possible and left the house before Isshin could get back…or at least that was their intention. However, Isshin got back just in time to make the two clean up their room…along with the rest of the house and the clinic as well.  
"Me and the girls are going to the beach, so clean up the entire place while we're gone."  
"The hell? How come we don't get to go?"  
"…Cause I said so. So don't talk back."  
"Oh yeah?" growled Ichigo as he stomped his foot forward.  
"Is that a challenge?" asked Isshin, now thoroughly absorbed by the idea of a prospective fight.  
"We should stay home Ichigo…" muttered Shuuhei under his breath. Ichigo turned his head to look at Shuuhei questioningly.  
"You're gonna give up that easily?" asked Ichigo in disbelief.  
"We have stuff to do…remember?" Ichigo stared at him dubiously. "Planning…for the upcoming week…you know…" Ichigo continued to stare at him stupidly. "Baka…let's just stay home alright?" growled Shuuhei as he slid up next to Ichigo. Craning his neck slightly, he whispered furiously into Ichigo's ear. "Stay home and we can do _whatever_ we want!" Ichigo smirked at the idea.  
"On second thought, I guess we should stay behind…" said Ichigo slowly. Isshin just stared at the two suspiciously, but finally shrugged his shoulders and left with Yuzu and Karin.

"So…what're we gonna do?" asked Ichigo as he sat down on his bed, arms crossed. Shuuhei smirked and leaned in dangerously close to Ichigo's face.  
"We're…gonna…f…" said Shuuhei slowly and deliberately. Ichigo's eyes widened as he gulped nervously. He knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but he didn't think it'd be happening _this_ soon.  
"W―Wait a sec…shouldn't we take our time before we…you know…" stuttered Ichigo.  
"No…we need to do it now, and we need to do it _fast_," answered Shuuhei resolutely. Ichigo gulped once more as he felt his entire body rise a few degrees.  
"Geez Shuuhei, you make it sound easy…"  
"Well it is…although it might take anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour for me to finish."  
"Shit…" whispered Ichigo in awe. He should've known that a guy like Shuuhei would have an amazing sex drive. "W―What about me?" asked Ichigo as he slowly got over the idea of an hour in bed with Shuuhei.  
"What about you?" asked Shuuhei emotionlessly.  
"You know…I mean…I wanna have an orgasm too…" stammered Ichigo as he bowed his head in embarrassment. Silence. Ichigo looked up to see what Shuuhei's reaction was…only to find that Shuuhei was staring at him weirdly.  
"…The fuck are you talking about?" asked Shuuhei quizzically. Ichigo stared at him in disbelief, temporarily at a lost for words. Shuuhei sighed as he continued speaking. "I have no idea what _you're _thinking about, but I'm talking about _finding_ some sort of alibi for the week you're in Soul Society." Ichigo's mouth dropped open as he continued to look at Shuuhei skeptically. "Ok then…moving on…"

"A school trip…" asked Ichigo with a hint of sarcasm.  
"Yup," said Shuuhei as he nodded his head gravely.  
"…That's the fucking lamest idea I've ever heard."  
"How so?"  
"Cause school trips take place at the _end_ of the term…not in the middle."  
"…We'll say it's a school trip for special students."  
"Like he's gonna really take that bullshit."  
"Well he's not gonna have a say in it," said Shuuhei as he stood up. Ichigo cocked his eyebrow in suspicion.  
"What do you mean…" asked Ichigo. Shuuhei smirked as he saw Ichigo's face contort as if in pain.  
"We're leaving…_now_" answered Shuuhei. As if timed, a bright flash of light appeared upstairs as soon as Shuuhei spoke those words. "They've opened the portal already…" Without another word, Shuuhei walked up the stairs, leaving Ichigo and his jaw hanging agape. True enough, the customary portal to Soul Society stood before them as they entered Ichigo's room. The doors remained closed, however, as if signaling that there was no rush for the two to get through to the other side. But Shuuhei seemed more than ready to leave this world.  
"Oye Ichigo, where's that badge of yours? I wanna get out of this gigai as soon as possible…" asked Shuuhei as he rummaged through various items on Ichigo's desk. Ichigo sighed as he reached into his pockets to grab the badge, but suddenly hesitated as a…mischievous thought struck him.  
"Hey Shuuhei…"  
"Hm?" grunted the other in response as he started digging through papers.  
"Do we have to go _right_ away?" asked Ichigo as he diverted his gaze elsewhere and pretended to look uninterested.  
"Well…better than staying here and having to give an excuse to your father in person."  
"True but…we still have a lot of time until he gets back…" continued Ichigo innocently.  
"…What're you getting at?"  
"I'm just saying…we have a lotta time…that's all." Shuuhei cocked his eyebrow in suspicion.  
"…And?"  
"And well, we could do _something_ before we leave…since we have the time and all…" muttered Ichigo quickly. Shuuhei stared at him in disbelief.  
"You wanna…" asked Shuuhei as he slowly lowered his voice, a smirk appearing on his face. Ichigo felt his face turn slightly red as he lazily brought an arm up to scratch the back of his head.  
"Well yeah…I mean, only if _you_ wanna…" stammered Ichigo, trying hard to not seem insistent. There was a long silence.

"I don't wanna," answered Shuuhei coolly. Ichigo's jaws dropped open as he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Rejection _hurts_.  
"Well…it's not like I wanted to in the first place…" continued Ichigo, with a noticeably disappointed air in his voice.  
"Well I mean, I just don't see the point in _eating_ right now…once we're in our soul forms, we won't feel _hunger_," continued Shuuhei as he rummaged through the drawers of Ichigo's desk. Ichigo's jaws dropped another notch. It was like they were on completely different worlds, speaking completely different languages, while throwing balls of crap at each other.  
"How fucking _dense_ can you be?" muttered Ichigo angrily underneath his breath.  
"What was that?" asked Shuuhei.  
"Nothing!" growled Ichigo in spite.  
"Then, help me find that badge of yours," sighed Shuuhei. Ichigo grumbled as he walked up next to Shuuhei and help him "look for" the badge.

The two "looked" for the badge for nearly an hour when Shuuhei finally decided to give up.  
"Guess I'll just have to manually split from my gigai…" sighed Shuuhei, grimacing at the idea of how difficult a feat that was. Ichigo snickered in response. "What's so funny?" asked Shuuhei.  
"Nothing…nothing at all…" said Ichigo as he continued to snicker, then stuff his hands into his pockets. Shuuhei looked at him strangely.  
"You hiding something?" asked Shuuhei suspiciously.  
"Nothing…nothing at all…" repeated Ichigo. He continued to smirk as he stood up to get out of the room. "Want anything to drink?" asked Ichigo coolly.  
"I don't s'pose there's any sake left, eh?" asked Shuuhei hopefully. Ichigo shook his head.  
"Drank it all…last night…remember?" said Ichigo slowly as he turned the other way and left through the door. It really was quite funny how dense Shuuhei was…but only to a certain point. After that certain point, it was a bit pitiful…and disheartening. Ichigo sighed as he walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, he poured himself a cup of juice and downed it in one gulp. He stared blankly out the window as he leaned over the sink, mulling over lost thoughts from the night before. Shuuhei had said he _loved_ him…but of course, Ichigo didn't take him seriously, seeing as how alcohol and lust usually impairs the mind. But in retrospect, words like those weren't something you could throw around casually. There _had_ to be some sort of truth to them, if not literal but implied. Just how much was implied though, was what bothered Ichigo at the moment. Was it implied that Shuuhei was only saying that as a "for the moment" thing? Or was it implied that Shuuhei was saying it to cover up the "awkward moment after sex" effect? Hopefully, the words weren't for the "I wanna get in your pants" approach. Ichigo sighed as he furrowed his brows further and buried his face in his hand. He sighed aloud once more as his thoughts moved onto the prospect of spending a whole week with Shuuhei. Of course, he had spent about a week with Shuuhei already, but now, after what they had just done (and said), Ichigo doubted the week would go by without incident.  
"Whatcha thinking about?" asked a husky voice from behind. Shuuhei had somehow slipped into the kitchen and directly behind Ichigo, unnoticed.  
"Nothing…" denied Ichigo once more. He sighed slightly as Shuuhei slipped his arms around his waist and drew their bodies together.  
"You sure?" asked Shuuhei as he rested his chin on Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo sighed and nodded in response. Part of him told him he should be angry with Shuuhei, for acting so casually after what had happened last night. Part of him told him that Shuuhei really _hadn't_ meant those words last night, and they were just sweet words to butter him up for the next time his carnal desires got the best of him. Part of him told him to turn around, push Shuuhei away and stick his foot up his ass for being a damn, lying (yet sexy) bastard. Yet…the other part of him told him to turn around and to embrace Shuuhei as he was being embraced now. Part of him told him that those words could possibly be true, and that he felt more than just lust towards Shuuhei. Part of him told him that he should be happy with a man like Shuuhei, and that the way Shuuhei was acting was only natural for a couple.

But they weren't a couple. So the part of him that told him to be angry won out.  
"Leggo of me…" growled Ichigo.  
"…Why?" asked Shuuhei innocently as he tightened his grip around Ichigo's waist.  
"Just because," answered Ichigo.  
"Hm…maybe later. We still have some time 'fore we head over to Soul Society…and I think I wanna stay like this till we go." Ichigo let out an exasperated sigh.  
"Let me go," said Ichigo in a voice lower than his growl, yet somehow more demanding. Shuuhei relented, and loosened his grip…only momentarily however, as he turned Ichigo around to face him, arms placed firmly on Ichigo's frame.  
"What's wrong?" asked Shuuhei seriously. Ichigo willed his face to go blank, hoping to not give Shuuhei a chance to get stray hints from his expressions…not like Shuuhei would've been able to interpret them anyways, being as dense as he was.  
"Asking me the same thing over and over and getting the same answer over and over…do you really think I'm gonna say something different this time around?" answered Ichigo in a bored tone as he turned his gaze away. Shuuhei's face turned into a slight frown as he tried to read the inscrutable appearance on Ichigo's face, and finally sighed. If Ichigo wouldn't tell him what was wrong, blindly guessing what was wrong was the next best thing.  
"I changed the sheets already…" started Shuuhei. Ichigo snorted as he poured himself another cup of juice.  
"I cleaned up the mess I made on your desk…" continued Shuuhei. Ichigo snorted again as he drank his cup of juice.  
"I put all your clothes in the laundry basket…" tried Shuuhei again. Ichigo snorted once more as he washed his cup of juice.  
"What're you trying to say?" asked Ichigo in the same flat voice he had used earlier.  
'Sorry' answered Shuuhei mentally, but decided that he had better not say something like that. 1) It suggested that he had done something wrong (although he was pretty sure he hadn't) and 2) It suggested that Shuuhei felt guilty (which he obviously didn't…how can one feel guilt for something one didn't do? Besides…guilt was for the weak). So Shuuhei decided on the next best thing to do. Strong arms slipped around Ichigo's waist once more.  
"What now?" asked Ichigo in a slightly annoyed tone. Shuuhei craned his neck around and placed his lip right next to Ichigo's ear as he tightened his hug. He stood silently for a moment before he spoke the next three words.

"I love you."

As soon as those words were uttered, Ichigo's entire body went limp. It was as if a strong strain in his back had been miraculously fixed. But before answering, Ichigo leaned back into Shuuhei's warm embrace in silence, as if to think the next few words out thoroughly. He answered concisely, in exactly three words as well.

"You mean it?" asked Ichigo as he slumped slightly, the back of his head sliding down Shuuhei's chest and feet sliding across the floor. Staring intently up, Ichigo focused his gaze entirely on Shuuhei, who in turn looked down lovingly at him. Shuuhei smirked slightly as he hoisted Ichigo back up to a standing position by the armpits. He answered Ichigo calmly.

"I do."

It was pretty funny, thought Ichigo, how dense Shuuhei was. In just two days, Shuuhei had converted the two of them into…a couple, he supposed. There was the confession of love, the sex (well, oral at least), and now, Shuuhei, in the exact two words usually reserved for marriage, had just managed to invoke all desire in Ichigo for him. How very dense Shuuhei was, to treat Ichigo like his lover, despite the _gender_ barrier. How very dense Shuuhei was, to treat Ichigo like his lover, despite the _world_ barrier. How very, _very_, dense Shuuhei was…but for that, Ichigo was glad. He would've had it no other way. He would've had Shuuhei's kiss, the deep and all-enveloping kiss, this one and only way. It was just the way he liked…no, _loved_ it.

---

Shuuhei pulled his lips away from Ichigo hesitantly, yet surely at the same time. Ichigo murmured a sigh of objection, but stopped when he realized that Shuuhei was leading them to the couch. He knew (or at least _hoped_ he knew) what was to come next. Pushing him down firmly onto the couch, Shuuhei kneeled down before Ichigo as he spoke briefly and quickly.  
"I don't think we have a lotta time…" said Shuuhei as he unbuckled Ichigo's belt and tugged at the jeans and boxers Ichigo was wearing.  
"Yeah…" agreed Ichigo as he helped to pull his boxer off (it had gotten snagged by Ichigo's growing erection). Without another word, Shuuhei grabbed Ichigo's length firmly and started to pull roughly yet fluidly, eliciting a long, loud moan from Ichigo. Shuuhei chuckled as he continued to jerk Ichigo's length.  
"I haven't even gotten to the good part, and you're enjoying it so much already…"mocked Shuuhei. Ichigo nodded his head weakly, but was forced to throw his head back in pleasure as Shuuhei used his thumb to rub the head of Ichigo's erection roughly, encouraging the flow of precum from Ichigo's tip. Shuuhei smirked brightly when he saw a large glob of precum emerge from the tip, and licked it up eagerly.  
"You taste lighter than last night…" said Shuuhei as he continued to fondle the tip.  
"No…no really…" gasped Ichigo, trying to be sarcastic despite Shuuhei's attempts to shut down Ichigo's mind and force him to succumb to his bodily pleasures. "H―Hurry Shuuhei," urged Ichigo. Shuuhei was only happy to comply.

Ichigo cried out loudly as Shuuhei planted his mouth firmly on the head of Ichigo's erection, licking and suckling the little drops of precum that he so loved.  
"G―Geezus Shuuhei…" groaned Ichigo as he fought every muscle in his body to keep from slamming Shuuhei's head down onto his crotch. Shuuhei curved his lips in a small smile, and continued to suck.  
"Watch me Ichigo…y'know you wanna," said Shuuhei. True enough, Ichigo wanted to, and so forced his eyes open to watch the provocative and sensual scene before him. But soon after, he was forced to shut his eyes once more as Shuuhei bit down tenderly, sending jolts of pleasure all the way up Ichigo's body. Ichigo opened his mouth to utter words, but was stopped by Shuuhei who let his mouth slide down Ichigo's length leisurely. Now at a loss for coherent thoughts, Ichigo decided that only groaning aloud could get his message of pleasure across. Sure enough, it did, and Shuuhei all but willingly swallowed the rest of Ichigo's length in a swift bobbing motion.  
"Shuuuhei…" whispered Ichigo pathetically as his hands rummaged around to hold onto something tangible, finally settling on Shuuhei's head. "It's…it's so _damn_ good…" gasped Ichigo as Shuuhei popped Ichigo's length out of his mouth.  
"I'd be damned if it wasn't…" said Shuuhei as he pulled urgently at Ichigo's slick, coated member, drawing out another glorious groan-gasp from Ichigo once more. "Y'know…I wouldn't mind just listening to you moan like that all night long…" muttered Shuuhei as he continued to jerk Ichigo's tender member. Ichigo could only grunt in protest, as if to say 'Focus on my dick, dammit'. Shuuhei chuckled as he lowered his mouth back onto Ichigo's erection.

Oh the glorious pleasure that Ichigo was pushing his length into. Blind and crazed by lust, Ichigo could do nothing but continually moan throatily whilst randomly bucking his hips. But Ichigo knew he wasn't going to last much longer, as he felt his muscles spasm and tighten one after the other. He let out a ragged moan to warn Shuuhei of the oncoming surge, but was promptly ignored by the other man, who continued to suck and fondle his erection with constant intensity.  
"Shuuhei…I'm gonna―" started Ichigo, but was cut off by Shuuhei clamping his mouth down firmly on Ichigo's length. What escaped from Ichigo's mouth next was a long guttural groan of ecstasy that sent shivers down his own back. As if in anticipation for what was to come, Shuuhei smiled devilishly, mouth still planted firmly on Ichigo's length, and slid his lips back to the tip of the erection, leaving enough of Ichigo's member to be held in Shuuhei's hand. Starting on the last stretch of Ichigo's endurance, Shuuhei began to pump Ichigo's length in unison with his sucking, creating a synchronized euphoria that could only numb every part of Ichigo's body with intense pleasure.  
"This…is it…" practically whispered Ichigo inbetween throaty shouts of pleasure. He felt his hips begin to jump as his grip on Shuuhei's head intensified, persistently pushing Shuuhei's head even further down on his length. Shuuhei, on the other hand, let Ichigo take control completely, not even attempting to resist the violent bucking. Rather, he continued to suck furiously, enjoying how Ichigo frantically thrusted into his mouth, desperate for his long-sought release. And sure enough, Ichigo found that sweet bliss soon after, moaning Shuuhei's name aloud while clutching the back of Shuuhei's head recklessly and thrusting several more times.  
"Sh―Shit, Shuuhei!" he cried in blind rapture, hips clear off the couch and member forced deep into Shuuhei's mouth, shooting off round after round of milky cum. Shuuhei suckled Ichigo's erection greedily, slurping loudly and drinking the tangy essence that erupted so forcefully from Ichigo's tip. Still riding the mind-numbing high from his orgasm, Ichigo managed to open his eyes momentarily and gaze lustfully at the other man, still on his knees, hands cupped around his length. Shuuhei gazed back at him as well, making direct eye-contact, right before engulfing Ichigo's entire length once more into his mouth, letting it slide all the way to the back of his throat. Body racked with pleasure again, Ichigo clenched tight every muscle in his body as he thrust one last time, spilling the last of his seed and collapsing back onto the couch. Shuuhei smirked as he swallowed every last drop, and wiped away the little dribble that escaped from the corner of his mouth.

---

Ichigo's mind was still groggy after such a blissful experience, but he was still conscious enough to realize that Shuuhei was watching him while he sat there in the haze of his post-orgasm.  
"Wh―What…about you?" asked Ichigo as soon as he could breathe correctly.  
"…Not now," answered Shuuhei flatly as he stood up.  
"Wh―Why not?" persisted Ichigo as he grabbed Shuuhei by the hand. Shuuhei stopped walking for a moment, then finally turned around, smirk splayed across his face.  
"Cause…" started Shuuhei, as he leaned forward to whisper into Ichigo's ear. "I want more than just a blowjob…" Ichigo's eyes widened. "I want your entire body…" cooed Shuuhei lustfully, yet playfully at the same time.  
"W―Wait a sec…" stammered Ichigo. "Y―You said…when I'm ready…"  
"Well, yeah…seeing as how we don't have time to do it now…" continued Shuuhei. "We'll just do it when we get to Soul Society." Shuuhei's smirk widened several inches before he turned around to walk up the stairs, leaving a dumbfounded Ichigo to stare at the wall."What if I said I don't want to…" said Ichigo hypothetically. Shuuhei didn't even bother to stop while he answered.  
"Well…doesn't change the fact that _I _would still want to have sex…" answered Shuuhei with his back to Ichigo, waving it off casually with his hand. "Besides…" continued Shuuhei as he ascended the stairs.  
"I know you're just dying to have me in ya, eh?" chuckled Shuuhei. He ducked his head nimbly as he dodged a pillow thrown by Ichigo.

After writing a short note explaining to Isshin where they were going (school trip to insert random place in Japan here) and cleaning up the mess upstairs _as well as _downstairs, the two were ready to leave. Pressing the badge firmly against their bodies, energy flashed brightly as their souls separated neatly from their bodies.  
"Feels good, don't it?" asked Shuuhei as he stretched his arms. Ichigo nodded, but instead of paying attention to Shuuhei's arms, his eyes drifted up Shuuhei's slender neck, over Shuuhei's smooth face, and settled on the tattoo on Shuuhei's left cheekbone. He had seen it several times before, but now, knowing what it meant (and experiencing it for himself), he found the tattoo vaguely appealing…in other words, just downright sexy. But he was forced to avert his gaze as soon as Shuuhei noticed that Ichigo was staring at him.  
"Something on my face?" asked Shuuhei as he furrowed his eyebrows. Ichigo shook his head quickly  
"Just…just wanted to look at your face…that's all…" explained Ichigo lamely. Shuuhei cocked his eyebrow, but decided that he should take it as a compliment if anything.  
"Anyways…ready to go?" asked Shuuhei. Ichigo nodded again.  
"Let's go."

They forced the portal doors open with some trouble, as if something was holding the two doors together. But after struggling momentarily, the doors eventually did open to reveal the white portal to the passage to inbetween the human world and Soul Society. Literally jumping in, Ichigo took off at a running start in anticipation of the large, hulking black thing that could flatten him in mere seconds, only to be stopped by Shuuhei's grasp on his shoulder.  
"You don't have to run…" muttered Shuuhei in a slightly amused tone.  
"But the fucking _black thing_ is gonna run us over!" shouted Ichigo as he knocked Shuuhei's hand off.  
"…But we have hell butterflies…" said Shuuhei as he pointed up. True enough, fluttering above the two men, were two black butterflies, circling around their heads. "These'll let us through this passage safely…" explained Shuuhei. Ichigo looked at him quizzically, but decided to trust the other man. After all, if Ichigo couldn't trust Shuuhei, he couldn't very well say that he…_loved_ him…could he?

Approaching the door on the other side of the passage in a relatively short amount of time, the two men decided to stop and plan out what they were going to do once they were on the other side of the door.  
"Gotta take you to get your captain's robe custom made…then I gotta give you a tour of the division…then I gotta introduce you to everyone you haven't met yet…then―" said Shuuhei as he counted off the tasks one by one.  
"Geezus…all that in one day?" asked Ichigo as he whistled in awe.  
"One day? No…we gotta do that all in one _hour_…" said Shuuhei as he held up one finger.  
"The hell? What's the rush for?" asked Ichigo indignantly. Shuuhei smiled as he flash stepped behind Ichigo and caught Ichigo's waist in yet another hug.  
"…So we can have the rest of the day for some sexing…" muttered Shuuhei as he slid his hand into Ichigo's uniform.  
"Dammit…" cursed Ichigo as he pulled away roughly from Shuuhei. Shuuhei looked at him, a hint of disappointment creeping up his face.  
"What…do you _really_ not wanna do it?" asked Shuuhei, sulkily.  
"…I didn't say that…" grunted Ichigo. Shuuhei smiled once more as he caught the little glint in Ichigo's eye. "Let's hurry the fuck up and get those other things outta the way," said Ichigo as he walked towards the double doors.  
"Roger that…_captain_," said Shuuhei, sarcastically emphasizing the last word.

As with the other door before, this door refused to budge.  
"There's…something holding it together," observed Ichigo morosely.  
"No kidding…" answered Shuuhei. The two struggled to pull the doors apart, but try as they might, the doors refused to slide apart.  
"Dammit…Soul Society is pretty dysfunctional if you ask me…" muttered Ichigo as he shivered slightly.  
"Eh…no problem," said Shuuhei coolly, as he drew his zanpakutou swiftly. He readied his blade in fighting stance, but paused before slashing to let the goose bumps on his arms settle down. With a swift, yet powerful slash, the two doors were sliced cleanly in half and opened the way to Soul Society.  
"It's a bit cold…" whispered Ichigo as he stepped forward through the door.  
"What…is that an excuse to get me to hug you?" asked Shuuhei jokingly. But true enough, he was getting cold himself. Suddenly, words as cold as ice rang through the air, freezing the two men to their spot.  
"_Don't move,_" commanded a frigid voice. Uncannily, the two men stopped in place. Stepping out of the portal, Ichigo had expected to find the usual walls of Soul Society, reminiscent of feudal Japan. Instead, he found a frozen winter land, ice covering the ground and snow piled up on the roofs. Turning around to look at the doors, he found them covered in a thick layer of frost as well. Yet, despite the change in scenery, Ichigo could clearly see the Tower of Penitence in the background. His focus finally shifted to the person who commanded such a chilly voice.  
"Ichigo…" continued the person. "…step back through that door and head back to the human world…You don't belong here."  
"Rukia!" shouted Shuuhei indignantly. She ignored the other man completely as she let out a long breath that seemed to drop the temperature of the surrounding area several degrees. After waiting several moments for a response, she spoke once more.

"Step back through that door by your _own_ will…or by my will, I will _force_ you to go back."

TBC

So…hope the long wait was worth it. I certainly hope it was (I put a lotta…time management into this chapter, juggling physics and brit lit while writing this).

Anyways, as per usual, please R&R. Was it too corny? Or was it lacking? Or was it, god forbid, too short? Perhaps it just plain sucked. Review, review, review por favor!

Oh, and the question still stands…would Ichigo make a _lovely_ uke/bottom?

Enjoy this chapter and hopefully you can endure the long wait until the next update (you can check out my other fics, esp. my newest OHSHC sequel, while you're waiting!)


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